Undisclosed Summer
by phantasmal-wanderer
Summary: Danny was having a great summer in Amity Park, at least the five minutes of it before Vlad convinces his entire family to go to a cabin that his company owns in Gravity Falls, Oregon. Danny is suspicious since he feels paranoid that he's being watched; especially in the forest. When he sees gnomes chasing two kids in a golf cart? Now he knows this place is absolutely abnormal.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Hey guys. Wanted to try my hand at this crossover, And so this happened. Vlad is going to play a major roll in all the chapters, but Dipper and Mabel will also play a major roll in all the chapters after this one. Follows the episodes, but does not have at all the same dialogue. Trust me, been there, done that. Too much work that I just don't want to put into it. I guess I've put a lot of 'insignificant' details in this, but the little Easter Eggs that I've hidden in here are a little treat to Gravity Falls company.**

 **Also, if you are not familiar with Danny Phantom...You should definitely watch it, great show. Mostly because this story revolves a lot more with Danny Phantom then Gravity Falls. Yup. This takes place during episodes one and two of Gravity Falls.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Danny Phantom, or Gravity Falls.**

* * *

"Lancer was really depressed that nobody was paying attention," Tucker stated as his face was glued to his PDA, not once looking up to see where he was going.

"That's probably because it was the last class before summer starts," Sam added with a grin as she crossed her arms. "Wonder how many ghost attacks there's going to be?" Sam mused as she glanced over at Danny.

He sighed as he readjusted his backpack, as it was annoying him that most of the wright from the carrying bag was on his left shoulder. "Hopefully none," he stated as Tucker looked up from his PDA screen in shock. He noticed the shocked faces of his two best friends and decided to justify himself, "I just don't want it to be like last summer, with the whole Freakshow incident," he stated as he put his hands out in a defensive manner.

Sam nodded, "It won't. But still, ghost hunting is your thing," she stated with a grin. "Whenever you aren't ghost fighting, you seem…" She trailed, trying to think of a words that describes him. Danny looked at her, and she shrugged.

"What, normal?" Tucker supplied his answer as Sam. He rolled his eyes as he glanced back down at his PDA and began to type on the keyboard. "He's never been normal though, Sam," he stated, not noticing the ever growing glare of Danny towards him. "Heck, when I first met him-!"

"Gee, Tuck, I think we get it!" Danny yelled, cutting him off purposefully as he rolled his eyes.

Sam raised an eyebrow in interest, "Wait, I want to hear this story," she said with a teasing smirk on her face as she turned towards her tech nerd friend.

Danny's eyes widened as his face started to grow an abnormal shade of red from embarrassment, "N-No you don't!" He yelled, trying to persuade her. She had a grin that could rival the Cheshire cat's as she turned towards him. "Uh…They're _really_ boring stories!" He yelled as he immediately looked away from her unwavering gaze. He started to rub the back of his neck nervously as he tried to calm down his emotions.

Tucker chuckled as he looked up from his PDA, "The reason why Dash hates him?" He asked with a grin, "That's because-!"

"Look, my house!" Danny yelled, once again cutting of Tucker from exposing one of his dark secrets, "It's my house guys! Looks like I'll be going then!" He yelled in a slurred rush as he started to walk towards the steps of his house.

"How did we get here so fast?" Sam mumbled to herself as she looked down in thought as she sighed. She looked back up with a stern expression on her face, "Well, since I have to go to Europe this summer with my parents, I won't get to hear this story until I get back to the United States," she stated as she shrugged uncaringly. "But when I get back, I _will_ hear this story, Danny Fenton!" She yelled as he pointed an accusatory finger towards him, who seemed to flinch as she did it. She then started to walk in the opposite direction, "I need to get home. You and Tuck stay out of trouble while I'm gone!" She yelled as she disappeared from their sight as she went over a hill.

Tucker glanced at Danny with a smirk, "Since when do we ever get in trouble?" He asked as Danny shook his head, trying to not think about all the things that they had done while Sam was gone. Most of them had unfortunate consequences for the younger halfa.

Danny sighed, "I can name quite a _few_ instances…" He mumbled as he gripped the doorknob, only to feel very uncomfortable about opening his door. "Actually, let's head to your house for a bit," he stated as he started to walk down the stairs.

"I knew that you couldn't wait until tomorrow to play the new Doom game!" Tucker stated with a grin. "I know that we have the entire summer to beat it, but I'd give up at least two all-nighters to finish it," he stated as he started to walk, and Danny began to follow, almost on the road. However, the door to his house suddenly opened, and an unwelcomed figure stepped out.

"Daniel," Vlad stated with a grin on his face, "What a pleasant surprise," he purred out as he placed his hands behind his back sophistically.

Danny turned to look at the man and narrowed his eyes, "How is seeing _me_ at _my_ house surprising?" He asked in a low tone, though Vlad could still hear it. He shrugged it off as he started to head down the front steps and put his hand on the boy's shoulder.

"You must be excited about summer, little badger," Vlad stated with a small smile.

Danny, who was mildly confused at the man's behavior, quickly shrugged off the hand on his shoulder and took a step away from the man. If Vlad was offended at his action, his small smile never wavered from his face as he watched the young halfa in front of his with amusement. "What do you want, Vlad?" Danny hissed, knowing that whenever Vlad was being nice about something, it usually meant the villain had orchestrated a scheme to kill his dad, marry his mom, and make him his son.

Vlad looked confused at the question, "What do I want?" He repeated the question with confused eyes, "It's not about what _I_ want, Daniel, it's what your _parents_ want," he stated, though his eyes had grown stern and a smirk that sent shivers down Danny's back by the end of his statement.

"What do you mean by that?" Danny asked as he found his courage and took a step closer towards the older halfa. Vlad merely smirked as he gestured towards the inside of the house, now with the door clearly opening.

"Why don't you go find out?" Vlad asked in a smooth tone, not leaving any evidence in his voice that would depict what was going on. Danny glared as he looked at Tucker with a concerned look. The tech nerd nodded as he started to walk to his house, all the while casting uneasy glances at the older half ghost. "Well?" Vlad asked with impatience as he raised an eyebrow. Danny let out an inhuman growl as he started to walk at a fast pace inside of his house.

Jazz quickly came running down the stairs, "No, I don't _want_ to go camping with _Vlad_!" She yelled as Danny looked right into her annoyed and slightly frightened eyes. She gasped at his sudden appearance, shock on her features, though it quickly vanished as annoyance flashed through her eyes. "Danny!" She yelled as she gripped his shoulder as their father was heading down the stairs. "Tell him that we can't go camping!" She pleaded.

Danny glanced at his older sister out of the corner of his eyes before darting them to his father, "Uh…" He trailed with a small smile, "We can't go camping?" He asked as his father had a frown on his face.

"Danny boy!" He yelled in protest, "But Vladdy had suggested it, and it sounded like such a _good_ idea!" He yelled as his shoulders slumped in disappointment.

The older halfa was leaning against the wall with his arms snuggly crossed. "I do have a cabin in the woods for when DALV industries has small gatherings…" He added fuel to the ever growing metaphorical fire as he shrugged nonchalantly.

Jazz glanced at her brother with a worried expression, her brows were furrowed, " _See_ why we can't go camping?" She whispered as worry was laced in her tone.

" _Yup_ ," Danny stated as he glanced at Vlad had gave him his 'scary eyes' as he glared at the man, "We _absolutely_ can't go camping…" He mumbled as he looked back up at his now brooding father. "Listen, dad, I have…Uh…" He trailed, trying to think of an excuse to get out of this horrible arrangement.

"Summer classes!" Jazz yelled suddenly as she glanced at Danny, who nodded in agreement.

"That's right!" He stated as he put a small smile on his face while snapping his fingers in realization, "Sorry, dad, but looks like I can't go camping," he said with his tone in mock disappointment. "And Jazz needs to do her…" He trailed as she looked frantically around the room, trying to come up with a saving grace excuse for her as well.

"College reading!" She yelled as she too, provided her father with a small disappointed smile, "I have college _reading_ , college _preparation_!" She stated as she glanced down at the ground, "College… _Stuff_."

Vlad chuckled, seeing the children's efforts of trying to get out of his scheme amusing. Amusing, but a wasted effort nonetheless. "Daniel, I know for a fact that you passed your classes with a B average," he stated as he started to walk over to where they were. "Jasmine, you can do your summer readings at the cabin," he stated as he noticed Maddie coming out of the kitchen with a suitcase. "And in a nice, quiet environment, you will be able to focus _far_ better than if you were to remain in Amity Park!" He stated.

Maddie gasped with surprise, a smile on her face, "Vlad does have an excellent point, kids," she stated as she looked around the house to find flashlights to pack in their luggage. "We're all going to this cabin for the summer. That's final!" She stated in a stern tone, though a big smile on her face as she walked out of the living room and back into the kitchen.

"You heard her, kids!" Jack stated, his expression changing to an excited one. "I'll pack the flapjacks!" He stated as he ran excitedly over to the kitchen, almost running down the two teens that were in his way as he was at it.

"You sure frootloop isn't overshadowing them?" Jazz whispered to her brother, who rolled his eyes in annoyance. Vlad chuckled at her accusation before sitting down on the couch, a triumphant smile on his face. Danny could feel his anger start to rise up as a growl was starting to form in his throat. " _Great_. Just how I wanted to spend the summer before I go to college," she said sarcastically as she pounded her feet up the stairs towards her room.

Danny glanced over at Vlad, who still had that winning smirk on his face. "Why do you _always_ have to mess with my life?" Danny asked in a monotone manner with a glare on his face.

Vlad merely brushed off the harshness of his tone, "Because you make it so _easy_ , Daniel," he stated as he looked around his house, "You better hurry up and gather your belongings," he stated, making the boy fist his hands by his sides, "We'll be with each other for a long time," he concluded, his smirk was ever growing on his face as he was enjoying his victory over the halfa.

"Gee, don't remind me," Danny mumbled as he gripped the handrail of the stairs tightly, hearing it crack as it broke under his ghostly inhuman strength. It caused a huge splint as it traveled all the way to the top of the stairs.

"I'm positive we'll also get your temper under control this summer as well," Vlad stated in an innocent manner as he opened up a book that was placed by the side table to pass the time. Danny glared harshly at him and opened his mouth to retort an insult at him, only for him to close it. He was trying to control his emotions around Vlad, since he could play him like a fiddle whenever he was around. He breathed in and out through his nose as he closed his eyes before opening them again to make the trek upstairs. "Hmm, Daniel is trying to control his emotions?" Vlad asked to himself as he flipped a page in the book, "An applauding effort…" He trailed as he felt his eyes light up red, "That is, if I weren't around to make him ultimately fail!" He mused out loud as a smirk grew on his face before his eyes turned back to normal as Maddie walked in, placing her luggage on the floor.

She let out a tired sigh as she looked around, "Are they packing?" She asked with a small smile.

Vlad closed his book, giving his undivided attention to the woman whom he loved in front of him. "Of course, Maddie," he stated as he gave her a genuine smile.

"I'm glad to hear that," she stated as Jack called for her from inside of the kitchen. She huffed as a big smile appeared on her face, "They really need this break," she stated as she looked at Vlad, "Thank you for being there for them; this idea was perfect!" She squealed with delight. "A cabin in the woods?" She asked rhetorically, her excitement rising to an extreme level, "I just can't wait!" She stated as she practically skipped into the kitchen.

"Of course I'll always be there for them, my precious Maddie," he stated as the smile was soon turned into a sadistic smirk, "Because when my plans are finally put into fruition, Jack will be no more, and I will finally have what I so desperately desire…!" He trailed as he put the book on the table from his lap. "And Daniel will be striving to remember his memories that he will have no choice _but_ to listen to me!" He yelled as he started to chuckle ominously. "I just need to find that legend…"

* * *

Danny watched as they pulled up towards the cabin. Despite it being owned by Vlad, it seemed pretty normal. He narrowed his eyes at the place, only to find nothing wrong with the exterior of the place. Though there was a panel that looked like a triangle.

"This place is so creepy…" Jazz stated as she sighed, "And Gravity Falls?" She asked looking around before lowering her voice, "I've never even _heard_ of this place before."

"To be honest, most people haven't heard of Amity Park, either," Danny retorted with a shrug, "But you see the triangle on the glass over there?" He asked as he tilted his head as the RV stopped. "This place practically screams illuminati," he teased with a grin.

Jazz, however, didn't find the statement very funny, "You think this place is surveilled by the Government or something?" She asked as Danny suddenly sobered up from his teasing and relaxed position that he was sitting in. "You better be careful when you go ghost," she whispered as Danny scowled.

"With Vlad here, it's already going to be impossible to-!" He started to yell in a hushed aggravated whisper, only for his door to suddenly fly open, making him almost fall out of the RV. Jack was on the other side with a big grin on his face.

He chuckled, "Told you your old man could get us here!" He yelled as he put his hands on his hips in a proud way.

Jazz chuckled nervously, "You sure did!" She applauded as she quickly got out of the vehicle, with Danny right behind her. They got their luggage from the back of the RV, and headed away from the group of adults. "Okay, as I was saying…" She trailed as Danny held back a groan of annoyance.

"I won't go ghost," he stated half-heartedly. Jazz narrowed her eyes at him, and he sighed, "Jazz! I got it!" He yelled as Vlad started to walk over to them with his arms behind his back in a casual manner.

"Isn't the open air such a delight?" The older half ghost asked, trying to strike up a conversation with the teens.

Danny narrowed his eyes, "Shove it, Vlad," he stated in an annoyed tone. "I'm still peeved about you messing up my summer…" He trailed as he started to head towards the cabin in a last ditch effort to get away from the man.

Jazz noticed that Vlad didn't have his luggage with him, "Where's your-?" She began to ask before she was cut off by her father coming towards the cabin with three things of luggage, including him, in a heap in his arms. She immediately glared in detestment at the older halfa in front of her.

"Your father seemed eager to carry my things…" He trailed as he started to head towards the front door in front of them, "Who am I to decline him?" He asked innocently, though he was chuckling at her struggling father.

"Jack…" Maddie said in a weary voice, "Are you sure you can handle all those?" She asked in a concerned tone.

"Of course!" Jack's voice boomed as he almost tripped over a stray rock that he couldn't see with the pile of luggage obscuring his sight. "This is a piece of cake!" He yelled with happiness, "Or fudge!"

Danny waited for Vlad to open the door as he was leaning against the wall with his arms crossed in a relaxed manner, "Does it bother you to see how much they love each other?" He taunted with a grin on his face. He knew he was pressing Vlad's buttons, but he started a war when he decided to intervene on the young halfa's summer plans.

Vlad smirked at him in return, but said nothing as he opened up the door and walked in. Danny only stared at the man who decided to only smirk on him. He felt himself frozen in his spot just outside of the door, and he knew that this was bad. It was really bad. He jumped when Jazz touched his shoulder as he quickly looked at her, thinking she might have been a ghost employed by Vlad. "Danny?" She asked in caution as he began to calm down. "What's wrong?" She asked as she looked at her brother and then peered inside of the cabin, where Vlad had disappeared into.

"He only smirked at me," Danny mumbled as he picked up his luggage. "This is bad, Jazz," he said as he looked around the cabin and saw that his parents weren't in any danger. The woods seemed eerie, but he knew it was his nerves playing tricks on him. "He's planning something…" He trailed as his sister only rolled her eyes.

"Of course he is, why do you think he manipulated our parents into coming out here?" She asked as she walked inside. "The only thing we can do is stay alert," she said in a whisper. "We have to make sure that dad is safe," she warned as she walked deeper into the dreaded cabin.

Danny sighed, "Why did it have to be _Vlad_?" He asked sarcastically as he walked in as well, "I would be completely fine with staying with _Walker_ or _Skulker_ …" He trailed as he plopped his luggage down on the dusty couch that was in the living room. "Or the Box Ghost!" He yelled as he sighed once more. "But Vlad…" He mumbled as he narrowed his eyes, "He's always two steps in front of-!" He started to say as he turned around and was met face to face with the older halfa.

Vlad had a big smirk on his face, "I appreciate your sentiments, Daniel," he stated with a snug expression on his face.

"That wasn't a compliment, you scheming, manipulative-!" Danny began to say but was but off when Vlad decided to shoot out ecto-blasts out of his eyes at the teen, who had to dodge to avoid getting hit in the chest with the attack.

"Need I remind you that we have an entire summer with each other?" Vlad asked rhetorically as he sneered down as the boy, who was a little startled from the attack as he frantically looked up in Vlad's eyes. He could see that the boy was slightly scared of him. He was scared of the older half ghost when he was holding back seventy five percent of his powers whenever they fought. "It would be wise to hold your tongue, Daniel," he stated as he started to walk towards the door, "Before I burn it off," he threatened as he glanced at the teen, his eyes glowing red before walking out the door.

Danny calmed his beating heart as he placed a hand to his chest, "It just _had_ to be Vlad…" He continued his monologue from before as he placed his head on the dusty couch, not caring in the least if his raven black hair contained traces from the dust as he did so. His body started to tremble uncontrollably, "Has he…" He trailed as he shook his head, "Has he always been this…Threatening?"

* * *

Danny was taking a walk through the woods, a chilly wind traveled through the area, though it had no effect on the teen due to his ghost powers. "Why is there such a chilly wind in the middle of the summer?" He asked as he looked up at the sky, still seeing the sun in the middle of the it, "It's not even night," he mused as he heard a roar in the distance.

He stopped walking, thinking his ears were playing tricks on him. "What was-?" He began to ask, but then he heard another roar, and knew that he didn't imagine it.

"Leave us alone you stupid jerks!" Yelled a little girl's voice that echoed through the forest. "I'm _not_ going to be your queen!" She yelled as there was a scream of a man and a crash.

"I know I promised Jazz…" Danny muttered as he brought the two white rings to his waist and transformed into his ghostly counterpart, "But this seems worth taking a look," he stated, convincing himself that he wasn't in the wrong at all for going against his word. He flew up into the air, enjoying as the air hit against his face as he was ascending. He looked down and noticed two kids driving a bent up golf cart. "Oh…" He stated as he shrugged, forming a small smile on his face, "And I thought it was something-!" He started to say, but was interrupted when a giant gnome rushed past him. He momentarily stared off into space before he blinked with realization. "Wait, _what_!" He yelled as he flew after the gnome monster.

"Mabel!" The boy yelled as a tree fell on the road from the gnomes. It was obstructing their path, and they were about to crash into it.

Danny narrowed his eyes in determination as he flew faster, flying past the gnome creature, making the small gnome at the top open his jaw in shock. "Hey!" The head gnome shouted at the top, "That ghost is going after our queen!" He yelled as the other gnomes, all composed in one body, glanced over at Danny.

He felt a shiver go down his spine at the collected glanced at him, "What?" He asked as he was too slow to react at the fast swipe that was directed at him. He flew forward, his back first as he was sent flying forwards. He went past the kids in the golf cart, who were looking at him in confusion. "Hey there!" He greeted as he smacked into the tree, making it break apart as pieces of the wood went flying in every direction.

The teen rolled on the ground from the force before landing on the side of the road. He groaned as he slowly sat up and rubbed his slightly aching head as the golf cart whizzed past him, "Thanks spooky ghost!" The boy yelled in a rush as Danny looked up to see if they were safe. He noticed the giant gnome creature was about to step on him. He quickly turned intangible as the foot hit him and it continued on its trek after the two kids.

"I'm _not_ letting you go after those kids!" Danny yelled as he quickly flew up into the sky and turned visible. He fired up an ecto-blast and unleashed it. It hit the gnome in the back, and gnomes poured out of the hole and onto the ground. He made sure to blast it a couple more times, making it half of its initial size. It went quickly out of his line of fire, and the young halfa was ready to pursue it, when he felt a harsh hand latch onto his upper arm.

"Daniel, Daniel, Daniel," Vlad's voice said out of thin air as Plasmius materialized with a disappointed expression on his face. "I let you out of my sights for a few minutes and already you are letting your pent up aggression get the best of you," he stated with a shake of his head as he gestured to the ground.

Danny furrowed his eyebrows in confusion as he looked down at the ground to see overturned trees and singe marks on the ground. He looked back up with alarm, "Wait, that wasn't me!" He yelled in a defending tone.

Vlad raised an eyebrow slowly in disbelief, "If not you, Daniel, then who?" He asked in a displeasing tone.

"Figure it out yourself, frootloop," Danny retorted with a glare. He was in no mood to deal with the man in front of him. His back still hurt from crashing into the tree. "I don't have to tell you anything," he stated as Plasmius merely brushed off his attitude.

"Ah, well, it's of no consequence," Vlad stated with a slight shrug. "It's about time to have dinner, and we are all gathering to have it…" He said as he started to fly away, "You are not excluded in this matter, little badger," he concluded as he teleported away, leaving nothing behind except the residue pink smoke from the ghost power.

Danny rolled his eyes as he rubbed his back, which seemed to start feeling better by his healing factor. "Eh!" Danny mocked as he stuck his tongue out, still angry about Plasmius telling him what to do, "I'm Vlad and I can tell anybody what to do because I'm a wealthy powerful frootloop!" He continued his rant in a high pitched rant before he sighed, his shoulders hunched over. "I'm so not going back because he told me to…" He mumbled as he started to look around, trying to find the cabin that they were currently residing in. He couldn't find it as he groaned in frustration. He started to hover over the trees as he found what he was looking for and slowly descended onto the ground, transforming back into his human counterpart.

"Danny!" Jazz yelled as she walked out of the cabin with a smile on her face, "It's time for dinner," she stated as she ushered him in.

"Day one down…" He trailed in a depressed tone, "About a thousand more to go…" He mumbled as he walked into the cabin. He passed a smirking Vlad who was leaning against the doorframe. He glared at him and continued to make his way into the kitchen.

* * *

"Gnomes?" Jazz asked as she was laying on a small bed that was in a room that she and her brother were sharing. "Danny…" She trailed in a disbelieving tone.

"I know!" He yelled in a hushed voice as he was laying on his own bed, "But there were a thousand of them, all combined in one, and they were chasing these two kids," he stated as he placed his hands over his face in exhaustion.

Jazz looked up and the wooden ceiling, "Are you sure…You saw that right?" She asked as she frowned. "You know what you sound like, right?" She teased as she glanced over at her brother in the darkness.

Danny sighed quietly, placing his arms down by his sides, "I know what I sound like. But I also know what I saw. Vlad _knows_ something…" He stated as he glared at the wooden ceiling.

"What makes you say that?" She asked as she turned her body on her side to look at her brother.

"Because he's constantly smirking…" Danny mumbled in a dry tone, "Like he knows everything about this town. Besides, if Amity Park has ghosts, maybe Gravity Falls has…" He trailed, knowing how crazy he sounded trying to piece everything together.

"Gnomes?" Jazz supplied the answer with a grin. Danny glanced over at his sister and smiled.

"Something like that…" He stated as he looked out the window and saw the moonlight enter through the triangle design on the window panel. "Did you find any ghost hunting things hidden in this place?" He asked in a serious tone as he glanced back to his sister.

Jazz sighed, "No. Nothing," she stated as she looked at her bed, "I searched everywhere and couldn't find anything. Vlad does have a giant televisions in several rooms, but not a single phone," she huffed as Danny rolled his eyes.

"I still think there's something bigger going on with him," Danny mumbled as he turned on his side, facing away from his sister. "Maybe tomorrow I can find out what…" He trailed as he yawned.

"Did you forget that you, him, and dad all go fishing tomorrow?" She asked with a worried expression on her face.

Danny immediately felt his sleepy stupor go away as he shot up in his bed, " _What_?" He stated with wide eyes, "When did this happen?" He asked as he looked at his sister with a frown.

Jazz sighed, "At dinner. Vlad suggested it, and Dad agreed," she said as she pulled the comforter closer to her.

"I didn't even notice…" Danny mumbled as he placed a hand up to his face in worry. "Worst day of my life tomorrow," he mumbled as he sighed once more.

"Well, you better get some sleep, little brother," Jazz said as she turned her body away from her brother and closed her eyes.

Danny huffed, "As if I can get some sleep now…" He mumbled as he fell back on his mattress and sighed.

* * *

"Danny-boy!" Jack's voice boomed as he charged into the room, almost tearing the door off its hinges. Danny groaned as he shifted his body on the mattress and pulled the blankets closer to him. "It's time to get up, son!" He yelled, his excitement clearly heard in his voice.

"No…" Danny mumbled as he buried his head in his pillow. "Go away…" He said as he didn't even notice that Vlad had entered the room, since he was facing the opposite way.

"Now, Jack, if Daniel doesn't wish to go, I suppose it will just have to be the two of us," Vlad mused as he leaned against the doorway of the room with a smug grin on his face.

Danny's eyes immediately opened as he groggily sat up, his hair disheveled from his fitful sleep. "Alright," he groaned as he placed a hand through his rough hair, "I'm up…" he said as Jack grinned and stomped out of the room, giddy about the trip. As soon as his father was out of the room, he glared at the man with his 'scary eyes' as he narrowed them harshly. "I'm not letting you waste my dad," he growled out as he clenched his comforter tightly, his knuckles turning white from his anger.

Vlad chuckled, "Why would I want to do that so early in the game, son?" He asked rhetorically, "I have an entire summer to plot out this chess game. It would be an absolute shame if one of my pawns were to disappear so soon…" He trailed as he did a small wave, "Ta!" He finished as he walked out of the room with a smirk on his face.

"I absolutely hate that guy," Danny said with a sigh as he placed a tired hand to his face. "Him and his stupid mind games…" He muttered as he stood up from his bed with a groan, "And constant chess analogies…" He complained as he rolled his eyes, making his way over to the closet to get ready for the day.

* * *

Running down the stairs, Danny was frantic to not be left behind as he just passed Jazz, who was downstairs helping Maddie pack for their fishing trip. "Whoa! Vlad and dad haven't even left yet!" Jazz yelled as Danny stopped moving and let out a relieved sigh.

"That's good," Danny said as he wiped sweat from his face as he looked at what Jazz was reading and rose an eyebrow, "What is that?" Danny asked as he pointed to the small flyer.

"Oh, this?" Jazz asked as she shrugged and handed the paper to Danny, "It's for a monster contest," she stated with an uninterested tone, "Maybe those gnomes are photogenic?" Jazz teased as she started to walk away.

Danny looked at the reward money and chuckled, "Sam would be so over this," he mused as he grinned. He placed the paper in the garbage, not finding an interest in it. "Dad?" He called out in the quiet cabin. He then walked outside and found Vlad and his dad alone together, "What's going on?" Danny asked as he slowly walked over with a raised eyebrow.

Jack looked over at Danny and grinned, "Son! We were just about ready to leave without you!" He boomed as he placed a shoulder over his son and brought him to his side in an excruciatingly painful side hug. "If we don't get out there soon, the fish will all be gone!" He said as he ran over to the vehicle that they were using.

"What are you up to?" Danny asked with a glare as he looked at Vlad.

"Hm?" Vlad asked as he looked around the forest, "I'm not up to anything, Daniel. This is just a friendly trip of fishing," he stated as he shrugged and began to head towards the vehicle. "Yet, you're not at all that naïve, are you, boy?" He sneered as he glanced back at the teen with a smirk on his face before entering the vehicle.

Danny was fuming as he stomped over to the car as well, "Absolutely hate him…" He said under his breath as he shook his head as he got in.

* * *

"It was him! It was the Gobblewonker!" Yelled Old Man McGucket at the crowding people that were swarming around him.

Jack gasped, "Is that a ghost!?" He yelled as he started to run over to where the old man was with a big smile on his face.

Danny had a hand out to try and stop his dad, but he ran right past him, "Wait, dad!" He yelled in protest before sighing as he was left alone with Vlad.

"Ah, there's always that one bumbling oaf in the town," Vlad stated in amusement as he smirked over at the younger halfa with his arms behind his back casually.

"Yeah," Danny said as he glared, "And if you don't see one around, it's probably you," he mumbled as he rolled his eyes at the cheap shot at his dad. Did he mention how great his summer was going? It was going swell. He started to walk over to where the group of people were to try and persuade his dad to just get on the damn fishing boat already.

Jack was nodding his head, "It has to be a ghost!" He yelled, aweing the crowd with the possibility of ghosts being in Gravity Falls. "Look at the boat!" He yelled as he glanced over at it with an accusatory finger directed at it. "Only a ghost could do these things!" He yelled as he ran over to it to further examine the damage.

Danny's eyes went wide, "Wait, they're actually believing him?" He asked in slight shock as he looked around at the crowd and found that a man was picking up a calculator, but didn't think anything of the act. He shrugged and directed his attention back to the matter at hand. "Alright!" Danny yelled as he grabbed his father by the arm and started to lure him away from the crashed boat that was right by the docks. "Sorry, but we have to be fishing!" Danny chuckled weakly as the crowd groaned and quickly dispersed.

"Danny-boy!" Jack complained as he pouted, "I was so close to convincing them that ghosts were real…" He whined as he looked at the ground in disappointment. Danny fought the urge to roll his eyes at his father's childish behavior as he practically dragged the older man over to where the fishing boat was. Vlad crossed his arms when he saw them approaching.

"And I was beginning to worry," the older halfa sneered sarcastically. Danny glared at the man who merely smirked back at the teen.

Danny helped his father carefully into the boat right as Vlad was taking off with the vessel, making Jack almost plunge into the cold waters below. Danny gasped in shock as he quickly pushed his dad into the boat, making his father hit the bottom of the boat's floor harshly. Jack groaned as he rubbed his head, "Ow! Where am I?" He asked in mild confusion as he started to look around.

Vlad looked at the teen and gave him a knowing proud grin, making the boy growl, "I _didn't_ do that on purpose!" Danny hissed under his breath as Vlad started to walk over to the other end of the boat nonchalantly.

"With all your talk about me getting rid of Jack…" Vlad muttered as he started to chuckle, "I wouldn't be surprised if you somehow get rid of him first!" He gloated as he started to steer the boat to the middle of the lake.

"I-!" Danny stuttered as he started to grow flustered, "I wouldn't!" He said in broken English as placed a hand to his head, which was starting to throb. Due to his emotions being so out of control, he momentarily turned intangible before appearing again. He gasped as he quickly looked up at Vlad who was smirking. "Shut up!" He yelled as a smart reply as he started to stomp over to his father with a red face from embarrassment. He tried to not think about how year one he was acting with his ghost powers, he hoped that Vlad would let it go.

Vlad only chuckled darkly in amusement before dropping the anchor, "Well, well, this is an interesting development…" He muttered as he readied the fishing equipment with one arm, "Getting under Daniel's skin has never been so easy," he mused as he headed to where the Fenton's were.

Jack was busy talking to a man with a small fishing boat that was falling apart at the planks. "That's not how you hook that!" Jack said with a friendly smile as he placed the hook into one of the man's baits, making Danny make a disgusted face as he looked away.

"Yup, now I know why I don't go fishing," Danny mumbled as he decided to look at the water instead.

"Wow, that's amazing!" Stan said with mock amusement in hopes of trying to get his great nephew and great niece jealous. "Just to make sure, this is _free_ , right?" He asked in a quick jumble.

Jack scrunched his eyebrows in confusion, "Of course it's free!" He boomed with a smile as he gave the fishing rod back to the man in his own boat. "Now you just toss it!" He instructed as he did a flinging motion with his arm.

Stan rolled his eyes, "Well, that part's easy!" He yelled to defend himself, "What kind of _moron_ can't get that part-?" He started to ask, but looked up when there was sudden chaos from the medium sized boat beside him.

"Dad!" Danny yelled as he ducked, trying to not get in the way of his dad's dangerous fishing habits. His father's hook attaching to a lone flashlight, launching it into the water. Stan looked up and noticed that Jack did this several times as he brought up the hook with a goofy grin on his face. It was aimed at Vlad, who seemed to roll his eyes in annoyment as he side stepped so it wouldn't hit him.

"Jack," Vlad addressed as the man had stopped what he was doing and glanced back at his supposed best friend.

"Yeah, Vladdie?" Jack asked with excited eyes.

Vlad placed a hand on the man's shoulders, "Just relax, your line is already in the lake," he said in a monotone that Stan was sure that he was speaking condescendingly to the man. Jack nodded as he started to stare with anticipation into the lake, waiting for the fish.

Danny sighed with relief as he sat next to his dad, "Well, I think I'm done fishing. We should go back," Danny tried to persuade the two men by his side. Jack looked at him with pure confusion in his eyes, and Vlad only chuckled.

"Daniel, you haven't even caught one fish," Vlad said with a smirk, "That's _hardly_ called fishing," he mocked as Danny sighed dejectedly.

"Knew that wouldn't work," the young halfa said under his breath as he mentally kicked himself. When he looked over at Vlad, he noticed that he was wearing his smug grin on his face, " _What_?" He hissed under his breath, though he knew with the older halfa's enhanced senses he could hear it.

Vlad shrugged as he looked at the lake, "What do you say we have a deal, Daniel?" He asked casually, one would only assume it was a harmless bet.

Danny narrowed his eyes, he knew that this deal was making a deal with the metaphorical devil, "What _kind_ of deal?" He asked slowly as he rose an eyebrow at the man.

"I propose that whoever catches the most fish can make the loser do whatever they say," Vlad said in a slight rush with an innocent smile on his face. Danny rolled his eyes, his heartbeat started to race at the aspect of having a challenge being presented to him. However, this was Vlad. And with Vlad, he manipulates things into his own favor.

" _I'm_ lousy at fishing…" Danny muttered, " _You're_ lousy at fishing…" He stated, making Vlad shrug indifferently at being told a direct fault of his. "What would you have me do if I lose?" Danny asked curiously.

Vlad scoffed, "Where's the fun in knowing what the other is offering?" He asked as Danny stiffened, unsure if whether he should take the bet, "On the bright side, if you win, you can leave Gravity Falls and head back to Amity Park for the entire summer…" He whispered, knowing that the young halfa would accept his deal now. Vlad was met with an immediate reply.

Danny smirked, "Oh, you're on, Frootloop!" He yelled as he immediately set off to work on working on his line, "I'm _so_ going to win this!" He taunted as he didn't even glance up at the older halfa to see his dark smirk on his face.

"Hook. Line. And sinker," Vlad muttered as he casually enjoyed hoisting his line into the lake.

* * *

"Wow!" Stan stated as he nodded, "Uh huh…" He mumbled as he waited for something to catch his line, "Now I know why I don't go fishing…" He grumbled as he glanced behind him at Jack, who had moved onto his boat. "How are you doing, Jack?" He asked as he looked back and noticed a small pile of fish.

"Not too bad…" Jack said with a grin, "But nowhere near what those two are getting," he said as he pointed to Vlad's boat, where he and Danny were having an all-out fishing war.

Fish were flying here and there and flopping onto the boat as Danny practically caught them by his hands. Stan glanced at Vlad, who had a dark calculative gaze placed on the water, being perfectly content with his waiting game. The great uncle felt a shiver run down his spine, "Yikes. Wouldn't want to be on that boat…" He trailed dryly as he finally felt something biting his line and quickly reeled it in.

Jack grinned as he turned his head to where Stan was getting a fish, "There you go, Stan!" Jack mused as he slapped him hard on the shoulder.

"Whoa!" Stan yelled as he leaned backwards and quickly reeled the fish in with a grin, "This one's a big one!" He yelled, as Jack's eyes went wide with excitement.

"You almost got him!" Jack yelled in encouragement, "Don't let him go!"

Stan scoffed under his breath, "Are you _kidding_? This one is going to give me some big money!" He yelled, his eyes going wide with the vision of him finally being a wealthy man. However, just as he was pulling it to the surface, a boat rushed by, making the entire boats flop over as a giant wave came over the lake.

Danny looked up and his eyes went wide with surprise, "Oh, c'mon!" He complained before he was suddenly drenched as he fell into the water, trying to grasp onto the boat as it flipped over on him. However, before he was completely covered, a strong sturdy hand gripped his hand with a tight grip as they pulled him up to the surface. Danny coughed slightly as he looked around and noticed Vlad's smug smile. "I was winning, just so we're clear," Danny defended as he glared at the man.

"I have no doubt that you _were_ , Daniel," Vlad stated as he started to swim over to the shore.

"Dad?" Danny asked as he started to look around frantically. Heads were popping up all over the harbor, but Danny couldn't see his familiar head; it started to worry him. "Dad!" He yelled as he started to wade in the lake as Vlad sighed.

"Knowing him, he has so much air in his head, he'll probably float…" Vlad trailed dryly as the younger halfa glared at him. "Too soon?" He asked rhetorically with a smirk.

Jack popped up with Stan in his arms, "I got him! It's alright!" He yelled as he started to swim to the shore of the lake, he passed his son with a soft smile, "Don't worry, Danny-boy, I have plenty of air in my head to stay afloat," he mused as he backstroked to the shore with Stan in his arms still.

Danny sighed in relief at seeing his father safe as he started to swim, but his leg brushed past a fish, and his eyes went wide as a devious smirk crossed his features. "Still don't plan on letting this be a tie," he mused as he quickly went under and grabbed the fish with his hands before keeping it hidden and swimming to the surface.

* * *

"Grunkle Stan!" Dipper yelled as he ran over to Stan, who was drinking hot chocolate in the small circle of people.

"Grunkle Stan!" Mabel yelled as she also ran over to her great uncle Stan, "Sorry about ditching you…" She mumbled with a small frown.

Soos ran out of his boat with wide arms, "Grunkle Stan!" He yelled as Stan narrowed his eyes in confusion and placed a hand up to stop him.

"That's wrong on so many levels, Soos," Stan retorted with a grumble as he took another sip of his beverage, which was given to him on behalf of the new company he was with.

"Just wanted to try it," Soos said with a shrug.

Danny smirked as he brought out the fish that he was hiding, "Guess who won?" Danny mocked with a grin on his face. Vlad looked at the single fish and merely smirked at the boy. This made the young halfa nervous as he narrowed his eyes, "Uh, hello? I won!" He bragged.

Vlad chuckled, "Did you really think I'd let you win, Daniel?" He asked as he shook his head as he took a sip of his beverage, "You really _must_ be that naïve."

"I don't-!" Danny was about to protest but stopped when he sighed dejectedly, "You never planned on letting this be fair, did you?" He asked as he let go of the fish.

"Ah, you know me so well," Vlad stated as he snapped his fingers, and a shadow Plasmius clone appeared with a net full of fish that dropped its contents before disappearing before anyone could see. "It's called using your resources, Daniel," he lectured.

Danny shook his head, "Great, what do you want me to do?" He asked, though his breath was shaky and his tone was nervous.

Vlad took notice of it but merely chuckled, finding the boy's fear of him to be amusing, "Hmm, I could make you join me…" He trailed, knowing that would get a rise out of the boy, and he wasn't disappointed either. As soon as the words left the man's mouth, Danny's eyes went wide as his breathing started to go rapid. "Of course, that would be far too easy," Vlad stated, making the boy relax a little, "I want to see you broken down and pleading to join me," he said under his breath in a dark and stern tone.

Before Danny could reply, Stan decided to walk over, defusing the tension between the two for the time being, "Wow, you actually did manage to catch some fish…Impressive," Stan mused with a grin. At seeing the straight line on Vlad's face, Stan's posture stiffened slightly before relaxing when Vlad returned the man's grin.

"Of course! I always was the better fisher!" Vlad stated, making Jack's face drop to a frown as he looked down at the ground in his own disappointment.

"I have some people I want you to meet," Stan stated as he dragged his family over to where Danny, Vlad, and Jack were gathered, "This is Mabel," he stated as she did a little wave and smiled seductively at Danny, who responded with furrowed eyebrows in confusion. "And this is Dipper," he said as the small boy did a little wave awkwardly.

Mabel chuckled, "Don't you mean, _Dippy_?" She asked as she pointed at the hat on the top of her twin brother's head.

Dipper's face flushed, "Shut it, Mabel!" He scolded as he immediately chuckled weakly, "Uh, hi!" He said as he met eye contact with all the adults. Jack seemed to be gently. Danny seemed to have a 'haunting' look in his eyes, and yet, he also thought he saw him from somewhere before, but pushed the thought from his head. When Dipper met Vlad's eyes, he immediately wanted to shy away. There was something not right about him, and he didn't know what.

"Well, we own the Mystery Shack right on the edge of town. Feel free to visit sometime!" Stan stated as they began to walk away.

Jack sighed, "Well, let's get going," he stated as he started to head over to the vehicle. He was in a depressed mood; that much was painfully clear.

Danny watched as his father trudged to the vehicle it guilt, "I was so obsessed with the stupid bet that I totally forgot about dad," he mused out loud in a tone barely above a whisper.

"Ah, thank you for reminding me, little badger," Vlad said as he put a stern hand on the younger halfa.

Danny was immediately filled with panic as he quickly turned intangible to get away from him and ran away from the older halfa as he went after his dad. "How could I be that stupid?" He cursed himself as he tried to grab the vehicle handle but missed as his hand went right through due to his fluctuating emotions. He tried it again, only to be met with the same result.

"All you have to ask, and you shall receive, Daniel," Vlad mused from behind him, making the boy jump as he turned around and saw that the door had been opened, "You really do make this so easy…" He mused as he shook his head with a smirk as the boy quickly dove into the vehicle and slammed the door behind him; blocking the older halfa out.

 **To be continued...**

* * *

 **A/N: Feel free to tell me what you think! If I make a few grammar errors, I'm sorry. This was late when I wrote this because what's a girl going to do at three AM, am I right? Ha...**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: This is a side project. Honestly, I was working on this for months, writing a little bit there, a little bit there. And then school said hello, and I'm like...Please don't hurt me, school. School didn't listen. It's a bully. Moving along, another chapter has been added. Episode 3 and a small portion of episode 4. I would have finished 4, but guys, it's over 10,000 words at this point. I can't.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Danny Phantom or Gravity Falls**

 **Undisclosed Summer - Chapter 2**

* * *

Danny carefully walked into the living room, watching over his shoulder for any signs of Vlad. It was the day after the fishing incident, and he still remembered that he had lost the bet against the older halfa. He tried to keep his emotions in check that night, but he kept turning intangible though the night and landed under his bed with his blanket being placed through the mattress. Not that he could really sleep much anyways.

"Hey, little brother," Jazz welcomed as she walked into the living room from the kitchen, making the teen jump with slight surprise as he immediately turned his head to where she was. She eyed his condition and rose a worried eyebrow, her eyes laced with concern, "What's wrong?" She asked as she walked over to him and placed a hand on his shoulder in a comforting grip.

"Have…" He trailed at his internal disbelief of being worried about Vlad of all people. He sighed, swallowing his fear away for the time being, "Have you seen Vlad around?" He asked in a quiet tone, letting her know to be discreet about her answer.

Jazz placed her hand off of her brother's shoulder and looked both ways of the first floor of the cabin. She then looked up the stairs where their rooms were and found that no one was spying on them from the second floor. She shrugged as she shook her head slowly, "No," she answered truthfully as she started to walk over to the couch where the large television was mounted to the cabin wall. "Is something up?" She asked in slight curiosity as she turned on the device.

Danny opened his mouth to respond but decided against it. Vlad was his problem, and has always been his problem. He shouldn't drag his sister into it and let her get hurt in the process. She still didn't know about how the fishing trip turned out, and she was never going to know. The less she knew, the less information Vlad could somehow use against her. "Danny?" She asked as the teen was brought out of his thoughts and looked over at her. She had an arm propped against the couch and had her head tilted slightly, awaiting his answer patiently.

"No," He stated as Jazz rose an eyebrow in disbelief as he started to walk over to the couch and sat by her.

"Danny," she stated in a tone that pressed him to tell her. He wanted to tell her everything, but he didn't as he fisted his hands by his sides. "You know you can tell me anything," she coaxed in her gentle voice, trying to pry the information out of him.

"I know," he responded timidly as she gave him one last look before she sighed and flipped the television to the next available channel. It landed on a detective show with a police officer and a duck. Danny let out a chuckle, his mood instantly being lightened, "Wow, what is this?" He asked in a joking manner.

Jazz smiled as she leaned into the couch, relaxing herself, "I think it might be one of those parody shows," she mused as Danny leaned into the couch as well, feeling safe at the moment. "Reminds me of when you were younger," she chided in nostalgia as she grinned.

Danny groaned jokingly as he propped an elbow up on the arm of the couch, "Not Kaja the explorer," He mumbled dryly, though he had a grin on his face.

"All the time, mom would always sing the theme song to you when you would cry," she said as she looked over at her brother and her eyes widened when she noticed that Vlad was standing right beside Danny. The man was wearing a smug smirk as he was looking at Danny with mild amusement.

"Ah, so the brave hero _does_ cry…" Vlad trailed as he made his presence known to the teen. Danny jumped as he looked up and immediately froze on the spot. Jazz didn't know what had happened between them, but knew they were hiding something from her.

"Everyone cries, Vlad," Jazz commented, taking the attention off her brother for the time being as Vlad glanced over at her, "Maybe someone as heartless as you can cry too," she stated as Vlad smirked over at her challengingly.

Danny stood up and quickly stood over by Jazz, as if the man's mere existence would harm him, "Uh, Jazz," he said as his sister glared up at the older halfa, accepting his silent challenge with a cheeky smirk of her own. "We're going to explore the town," he stated as he took his sister's hand and hauled her to her feet with minimal effort.

Vlad cleared his throat, making the younger halfa pause slightly as he and his sister stopped walking towards the door, "Daniel, you haven't asked permission to go out…?" His question hanging in the air for the teen to completely digest.

"Was I _supposed_ to?" Danny snapped, dropping all of his fear in favor of anger. He didn't like when other people told him what to do, but he hated asking to do things even less. He didn't even ask his parents to hang with Sam and Tucker anymore. It made him feel as if he were a child, and the adult in question knew what was right for him. The teen had a feeling that the older halfa already knew this.

"Do you recall the fishing trip?" He asked with his held high, he didn't wait for Danny to nod his head, or shake his head no in reply, "I certainly do, and I also recall a certain…" He trailed, and at seeing the realization on Danny's face he grinned, " _Bet_?" He asked as Danny's eyes widened.

Jazz glanced down at her brother with narrowed eyes, "Bet?" She repeated at the new information. She was disappointed that her brother didn't tell her what had conspired on the trip. They were supposed to be siblings; which meant they could tell each other things no matter what.

Danny growled as he clenched his teeth, his eyes lighting up green slightly, "What, do I have to ask permission to do everything now?" He asked sarcastically as Vlad never let up his grin, he knew that he was right. Anger overcame the teen and resorted to scowling, "No way am I doing that, Vlad," he stated as he started to walk away with his confused sister in tow.

"That's too bad, little badger…" Vlad mumbled in mock disappointment, "The little game we've been playing will have to come to an end sooner than we'd both like," he stated cryptically. Danny halted his movements once again as he felt anger, fear, and defeat wash over him all at once. The teen sighed as he let go of his sister's hand and turned to face the older halfa.

"Can I go outside with Jazz?" Danny asked as he swallowed his pride. It was killing him having to ask Vlad something. It was demeaning to give into the evil halfa just so that his family would be safe; so that his father would be safe, most importantly.

Vlad looked over at the teen and opened his mouth to say something more, but he caught the scathing glare of Jazz and decided against it, "Of course you may go outside, Daniel," he stated as he waved him off, "Don't stay out too long," he warned as he started to walk away, his hands in his pockets. Danny knew the threat in his voice, but that didn't meant that he would try and get out of this bet any way he could.

Danny grabbed Jazz's hand again and sighed, "I'll fill you in as we go," he said in a low tone, knowing that he would have to tell Jazz everything if he didn't want an ear load of her lectures on the way.

* * *

"What do you mean you made a _bet_?" She asked in disbelief, "And with _Vlad_!" She yelled in an outrage as she shook her head and looked up at the sky, hoping that it would take her to the past to prevent her brother from doing something stupid. "He's a manipulative frootloop!" She argued.

Danny sighed as he ran a hand through his hair, "I know! But it didn't seem like it was a _bet_ at the _time_ ," he argued as Jazz shook her head. She looked forward and noticed that they were following the signs to a place called the 'Mystery Shack'. "I was stupid, and I'm going to try and get out of it…" He trailed as he looked up and noticed the sign for free pizza.

Jazz groaned, "How are you going to get out of it, Danny?" She asked as the younger halfa shrugged.

"With another bet?" He asked as he scratched his head nervously.

"You really think that's going to work?" She asked with a raised eyebrow. "What if he asks for something you can't give him?" She asked again, trying to get her younger brother to think about what he was signing off on.

Danny looked over at the shack and rose an eyebrow, "What's going on over there?" He asked as he started to walk over to where the small crowd was gathering. Jazz let out a huff at her brother dodging the subject, and ran to catch up with her brother, standing by him in the back.

Jazz glanced at the small stage and then over at the ticketing booth, "Do we have to pay to be here?" She asked with a raised eyebrow as she looked over at her brother, who shrugged in reply.

"Looks like they're having a wax figure display…" Danny informed as he looked around the area, "But I don't see any of that free pizza…" He trailed as Jazz crossed her arms.

"Figures," she stated curtly as she refrained from rolling her eyes. All of a sudden there was something being thrown as people stood up from their seats with frustration. "Danny!" She yelled as an axe came hurling towards them.

Danny didn't have time to think before he immediately grabbed his sister's upper arm and turned them both intangible. The axe passed harmlessly through them and landed on the tree a few meters away. The young halfa dropped his intangibility as he placed his hands by his sides, "That was close…" He mused with wide eyes as he glanced to where the axe was resting and a manly man with a red beard went to go retrieve it.

Jazz nodded, "I guess we shouldn't… _Axe_ …Any questions!" She mused as she placed a fist in her open palm as she told her pun. Danny looked at her with a stern face and shook his head.

"You aren't getting any better, Jazz," he stated dryly as Jazz made a frown and crossed her arms with a defiant huff.

"I thought that was pretty good for witty banter!" She complained as they were soon the only ones that were still standing in the area. Mabel, who was placing a tissue to collect any dirt from her wax figure, glanced over at the two siblings with a grin on her face.

"Did you come to marvel and be amazed at my wax figure?!" She asked excitedly as she jumped from the stage and ran over to where they were. She was flailing her arms in happiness as her long sleeves covered her hands. Stopping a few feet away from them, she stared hard at Danny, who took a step back in confusion. "Do I know you?" She asked with a big cheeky smile, drawing out the 'you' part of her question.

Danny nodded stiffly, "Uh…I think from the fishing trip?" He asked as he vaguely remembered her as well. He tried not to remember yesterday as much as he could, so his memory was a little hazy in some areas.

Mabel looked at him a little longer and then clapped her hands together, "Oh, yeah! I'm Mabel! What's your name?" She asked as Danny and Jazz watched as glitter appeared from her clapping her hands together.

"Danny," the younger halfa introduced and then gestures to his sister, "And this is my sister, Jazz," he stated as Jazz did a little smile, though her attention was still on the lingering glitter that was being sparkled in the sun as it was falling down.

"Why do you have glitter?" Jazz asked, intrigued slightly, but more curious than anything.

Mabel chuckled as she placed her hands on her waist, "Why not have glitter?" She asked as Jazz rose an eyebrow and glanced over at Danny, who put his hands up and shrugged. "Glitter is always the best accessory," she stated as she started to walk over to the stage, gesturing for the two to follow her, "Walk with me," she ordered nicely as if she were talking business.

Danny held back a snort as he followed after the young girl, and Jazz rose an eyebrow at this, but didn't say anything that would hurt the girl's feelings, "Are we getting fashion statements from a twelve year old?" Danny asked under his breath.

"I guess so…At least she isn't talking about ghost devices that could harm you," Jazz argued as Danny furrowed his eyebrows.

"Point taken," he mused, looking at the ground at how accurate the statement was. When he looked back up they had walked up to the stage.

"And that's why glitter makes the best accessory," she lectured proudly with a big smile, "Any questions?" She asked and Jazz, as well as Danny weren't paying much attention to her to ask any. "Good," she said as she started to walk away.

Danny turned to look at Jazz, "Guess we should probably head back to the cabin. Before I 'stay out too long'," Danny spat out, using air quotations as Jazz gave him a concerned look.

Mabel came running back, "Wait!" She yelled as she put a finger to her face, "Uh, so, um…You want to hang out?" She blurt out as Danny seemed confused that she wanted to hang out with them. "My brother and I only recently came here and…Well…" She trailed as Jazz caught onto what she was saying.

"Oh, Mabel, I see…" Jazz trailed as she bit her lip, "But Danny and I have to be getting back soon, and-!" She began to explain, but Danny began to get infuriated at the fact that he had to listen to Vlad at all. That wasn't part of the bet, at least he didn't verbally address it if it were.

"Actually, I think we _should_ stay a little longer," Danny stated as Jazz gave him a glare at interrupting her.

Mabel jumped in the air, "Excellent!" She chided in excitement and started to bring her wax figure inside. "Be right back!" She stated as she ran into the small shack in a rush.

Jazz shook her head, "What are you doing?" She asked with a scowl, "Aren't you trying to appease him? Why are you purposefully making Vlad angry?"

"Look, I know what you're thinking…" He trailed, defending himself, "But Vlad never said anything about listening to what he said. He just said I had to ask for permission whenever I wanted to do something," he stated as Jazz nodded in understanding.

"Okay, but I still think you're playing with fire, little brother…" She muttered as she furrowed her eyebrows in confusion, "What game was he talking about, anyway?" She asked in curiosity, remembering how the conversation played out previously in the cabin.

Danny gave a sigh, "What does Vlad _always_ want?" He asked rhetorically making Jazz gasp in realization.

"He wants to get rid of dad, marry mom, and wants to clone you…I think?" She asked to herself as she placed a hand up to her chin in thought, "Didn't he get a cat or something? Wait…Does that change the equation?" She asked as her voice grew quiet, she had entered her 'psychologist' mindset, and there wasn't any coming back from that.

"Are we even talking about the same thing anymore?" Danny mumbled as he rubbed the back of his neck in slight confusion.

"I'm baack!" Mabel cheered as she walked out of shack and held the door open, "Come and enter my grunkle's humble adobe!" She said in a mysterious voice.

Danny chuckled, "Nice atmosphere, Mabel!" He complimented as he brushed past her. Mabel's face lit up red as she grew flustered. Jazz walked passed her and rose an eyebrow, did this girl have a crush on her little brother?

Jazz caught up with the younger halfa, "Danny, I think that someone has a crush on you~!" She sang in a cheerful voice. Although, she was mostly singing it to herself, since Danny was out of earshot. Mabel walked them through into the living room and plopped onto the couch where the old television set was.

"I think there's an episode of Ducktective on!" She cheered as she turned on the television and turned up the volume some so they could all enjoy the show. "My brother would rather hang with Wendy than with me…" She trailed as she released a sigh.

Jazz frowned at the young girl's sadness and sat down next to her, "Boys will be boys," she shrugged nonchalantly as Mabel grinned.

"I think I know what you mean!" Mabel exclaimed, a giant grin etched on her face. "Oh, I have drawing paper. We can do arts and crafts while we watch!" She hyped up the atmosphere as she placed her hand behind the recliner and pulled out a large box of paper, along with glitter and markers.

"Seriously?" Danny asked in slight amazement, not believing how much art supplies a girl could possess. "So, you stay here with your great uncle?" He asked, casually talking a piece of paper along with a black marker.

"Yup!" Mabel responded as she popped the 'P', taking a pink marker as she started to doodle a heart on the paper. "We came from a few states over," she added as she started to shade in the heart.

Jazz grabbed a blue marker as she began to doodle stick figures on the paper, "Same as us…" She trailed as she stuck her tongue out to further concentrate on her art.

Danny scowled, "Yeah, except we didn't come here to have fun," he mumbled as he rolled his eyes. He glanced at his drawing and noticed it was his Danny Phantom emblem that Sam had drew for him. He suddenly missed Amity Park as he stared at the paper for a few moments. He didn't even want to wonder how Tucker was handling all the ghosts now that he was gone from the town.

"That's pretty!" Mabel stated as Danny jumped slightly as seeing Mabel on the floor, sitting rather close to him. He chuckled as he gave her the paper, "For moi?" She exaggerated, eyes widening in excitement.

"Sure, you can have it," he said with a grin as the door suddenly slammed shut. Stan walked through the door with a wad of cash as he wove his finger through it.

"Hah!" He laughed to himself as he pocketed the cash in his pants pocket, "What a bunch of-!" He mused to himself as he entered the living room and stopped talking when he noticed the people that had gathered. "Uh…Can I help you?" He asked as he glanced at each person in the room.

Mabel suddenly got up, holding Danny's artwork close to her chest, "Allow me to introduce, Danny, and Jazz," she boasted as she waved over to the siblings in the room. "They're my friends," she stated with a big grin on her face.

Stan rose an eyebrow as his eyes lingered on Danny, "You look familiar…" He trailed as Danny let out a nervous chuckle.

"Fishing trip?" He suggested as Stan nodded.

"Oh yeah. You were with your father or something. The one with the white hair, right?" He asked as he waved off the boy and turned around. He failed to notice the sudden flash of neon green in the young halfa's eyes. Jazz did, however, and placed a hand on his shoulder to comfort him. "Well, if you kids need anything, do me a favor and _don't_ need anything," he stated under his breath as he took out his wad of cash and started to walk further into the shack.

Danny let out a sigh to calm himself as he left, "We don't even _look_ alike!" He whispered as he clenched the black marker in his hands.

Jazz retreated her hand as she looked over at the hallway and noticed the small boy from before standing in the entranceway of the living room, "Hello, there," she greeted gently.

Dipper, who had just entered the shack, looked at his sister expectantly, "Uh, Mabel? Who are these people?" He asked in a hushed tone.

"They're my new friends, Danny and Jazz!" She exclaimed as she narrowed her eyes at him, "Why do I keep on having to say that?" She whispered as Dipper suddenly backed off.

"Fishing trip, right?" Dipper asked as he walked over to where Danny was, "I'm Dipper," he introduced as he let out a small smile.

Danny stopped clenching the marker, which came close to snapping as he suddenly dropped it, "Yeah, nice to meet you," the young halfa said in a distracted tone.

Jazz rolled her eyes as she stood up, "Excuse my brother, he's not exactly all there," she teased as Dipper nodded slowly in slight confusion. "You guys have a wax exhibit?" She asked, making a reference to the previous event that had transpired an hour ago.

"Apparently we do now," Dipper supplied an answer as he shrugged. "Anyways, we should head out of the living room. Grunkle Stan likes to watch his soap operas…" He trailed as he suppressed a shudder.

"I thought he said it was wrestling?" Mabel asked as she tilted her head slightly.

Dipper chuckled, "Oh man! You-You actually bought that?" He asked, his laughter overpowering his words. He then suddenly composed himself as he stood up straight, "No, that isn't wrestling," he stated as he started to walk towards their room.

Danny and Jazz glanced at each other, "Seems like something Tuck would try and pull off," Danny mused as Jazz chuckled slightly. They followed the siblings up the rickety stairs and up to the attic. "Wait, you guys live up here?" Danny asked, observing the water leak that was coming in through the roof.

"Is that…Mold?" Jazz asked as she squinted her eyes at the ceiling rafters.

"Yup! I've named that one Julio!" Mabel pointed to a festering mold spot on the ceiling. Jazz let out a cringe as Mabel pointed to another, "And that one is tall, dark, and mysterious Fred," She whispered as she waved her fingers in the air.

Dipper rolled his eyes, "Uh…It's not as bad as it appears," he added, taking away from Mabel, who was still waving her fingers through the air 'mysteriously'. "Aside from that weird triangle on the window…" He trailed as he pointed his thumb at the triangular window.

Jazz walked over and inspected the window, "We have the same thing on ours…" She mumbled as Danny rose an eyebrow.

"Maybe it's a trademark to Gravity Falls?" He asked as he waved off the triangle, "It's not as if there's a conspiracy happening in this town or anything…" He trailed as he looked out the window, waiting for the forest to prove him wrong. He waited to see the gnomes that he had seen a few days previously, but they never showed up.

"Conspiracy?" Dipper asked in a slightly high pitched voice as he started to get sweaty, "Don't be ridiculous! This place is perfectly normal!" He defended suspiciously as he started to look around frantically.

Mabel started to chuckle as she pointed at Dipper's chest, "Bro bro, why you so sweaty?" She asked with a cheerful grin.

Danny glanced over at the twin and stifled a chuckle, "Mabel!" Dipper yelled out in embarrassment as his face suddenly turned a bright shade of red.

Before anyone could say anything there was a sudden shrill from downstairs, alerting everyone. Everyone was frozen in place as Danny was the first one to question it, "Did anyone else hear that girly scream?" He asked as it happened again. The kids ran down the stairs first, followed by the Fenton siblings.

"It's horrible!" Stan yelled as he had his eyes covered. Danny was ready to blast something with an ecto-blast. Maybe it had been a monster. Or a ghost. Or…

"My wax Stan!" Mabel yelled as she bent down to examine what had happened, "He's been…" She trailed in suspense as she placed an arm over her eyes dramatically, "Beheaded!"

Danny immediately relaxed, "He just got beheaded," he breathed out in relief. He was glad that something hadn't happened to anybody in the shack. Well, at least nobody that was living, anyways.

Jazz narrowed her eyes at the fallen wax figure, "Why would someone behead a wax replica of Stan?" She asked in thought as Danny shrugged his shoulders in reply, "Stan, do you have any enemies that might want you…" She trailed as Stan nodded.

"Definitely yes," he responded in honesty, surprising Jazz and Danny as they glanced at each other, "But that isn't the problem here. Someone wanted to completely trash my replica! He was young! Handsome!" He stated as he got down on his knees and started to weep, "Why do the good die young? _Why_!?" He yelled as he placed his hands over his eyes and started to ball into them.

"Is he seriously crying over a wax replica of himself?" Danny asked as Dipper rolled his eyes.

"This is nothing, I saw him cry once for dropping his money on the ground…" Dipper responded as Danny rose an eyebrow in amazement. "It was a dollar bill," Dipper clarified as Danny chuckled, making the boy grin at making someone laugh.

Stan suddenly stood up, "Avenge me!" He yelled as he looked at the kids, "Avenge me!" He repeated as he started to run out of the living room, still having his hands over his eyes.

Mabel turned to her twin brother in expectation, "Wonder twins?" She asked with a beaming grin on her face.

Dipper sighed dejectedly, "Wonder twins," he confirmed as he brought out his notepad from his back pocket, "The murder weapon," he mused as Mabel looked around the crime scene.

"An axe," she stated as Dipper nodded, writing down the information.

"How come we never did the whole 'wonder siblings'?" Jazz whined in a teasing manner.

"Because nothing ever happens in Amity?" He asked as he rolled his eyes, "Unless you want to discover if that cat _really_ is Vlad's sister's…" He trailed as Jazz looked at him with an unrelenting gaze.

"It's his," Danny and Jazz said at the same time in a monotone voice.

Dipper grinned as Mabel took the axe in her hands, "Let's go ask around town," he said, excitement at solving a murder case overcoming him. He stopped when he noticed Jazz and Danny standing around in the living room, "Are you two coming?" He asked with a small smile as he headed out the door.

Danny grinned, "How can I decline to a _murder_ case?" He asked as Jazz rolled her eyes.

"It's not even a real murder!" She protested as she shook her head, "You just want to get Vlad irritated, don't you?" She asked, realizing why Danny was staying out so late.

"What?" He asked over-dramatically, "No, I wanted to solve a murder case!" He defended with a big grin on his face. He then wiped it off almost immediately after it formed, "That, and this town is dangerous. I have to at least keep these kids safe," he truthfully stated as he started to run after the siblings.

Jazz sighed, "Him and his hero complex," she mumbled as she started to run after them, but not before finding Stan carrying out a coffin from the trunk of his car. He looked up at her, and she quickly looked away, whistling innocently as she didn't pay any attention to what the con artist was doing.

* * *

"Skull Fracture?" Jazz asked as she read the sign above the biker bar. "What's up with this name?" She asked as she looked over at Danny was chuckling to himself.

"Man, Skulker would love this place!" He yelled as he stood up straight and looked over at Dipper and Mabel.

Mabel was proudly holding up fake ID's, as Dipper took one with a raised eyebrow, "Mabel, this is never going to work!" He yelled in protest.

Danny walked over and examined the ID, "Wow, this looks exactly like you," he stated as Dipper looked over at the young halfa, "Give or take a few years. You'll get that mustache," Danny responded positively.

"Gee, you really think man?" Dipper asked as he smiled softly.

"Definitely. You'll be growing chest hair in no time!" Danny mused as Mabel gave him his ID. He grew silent as he looked at the picture of himself with an eyepatch and white hair.

Dipper glanced over at his ID, "You'll get that eyepatch…" He mumbled as Danny placed his hand down by his side, not wanting to look at the photoshoped ID any longer. "And the white hair eventually," he mused.

Danny shook his head and sighed, visibly noticing that with the white hair, anybody could tell that he was Danny Phantom. He would absolutely have to be more careful about transforming in this town, "Thanks, Dipper," he responded dryly.

"ID's," the bouncer ordered at the front of the bar. The group offered their ID's up to him and he nodded, "Seems legit," he shrugged as he opened up the door. The group walked in and was immediately met with loud music and dark lighting.

"He didn't even look at mine!" Danny argued as Jazz chuckled.

"Maybe it's because you look normal with white hair?" Jazz teased as the young halfa glared at his older sister. "Kidding! Sheesh!" She defended as she started to walk forward. She wasn't watching where she was going and tripped over a man's body, who was laying on the floor.

Mabel walked over to her and hopped over the body, "He's just sleeping," she commented as Jazz scrambled to her feet. She backed against the bar counter as Mabel and Dipper ventured deeper into the bar.

"What are we doing here?" She asked as she looked around, going into hysterics at the fact that there was possibly a dead body in front of her, "How are Mabel and Dipper okay with this?" She asked as she noticed Danny bent over and poked the guy with the handle of a butter knife. "Danny!" She yelled in a hushed whisper.

"What?" Danny asked as he stood up with a chuckle, "He's just passed out, Jazz. Stop spazzing out," he mumbled as he rolled his eyes.

Jazz narrowed her eyes, "I am _not_ spazzing!" She protested as there was a loud crash of glass breaking. The Fenton siblings looked over towards the sound to find Dipper and Mabel running away from a red bearded man. "What happened-?" Jazz asked.

Dipper's eyes went wide, "Nothing! Time to go!" He yelled as he quickly rand towards the exit.

The group ran out of the biker bar and made it outside, "Alright, so maybe it possibly _wasn't_ Manly Dan…" Mabel mumbled as she narrowed her eyes in thought as she looked at the list of suspects that Dipper was holding.

"You think?" Dipper asked rhetorically as Mabel nodded, not understanding the sarcasm that was sent her way. Dipper sighed as he crossed off Manly Dan's name from the list. Mabel looked at her brother and chuckled.

"Aw, you're getting sweaty again!" She commented as Dipper glanced at his sister with a glare.

"We just ran away from a demented lumber jack! I think I have the right to be a little sweaty!" He responded as Danny and Jazz glanced at each other with raised eyebrows. Dipper groaned in frustration as he began walking, with Mabel right beside him.

Danny and Jazz were about to follow them, when suddenly Danny felt a shiver. "What's-?" He began to ask, but stopped when he felt an intense heat overcome him. "You two can go on without us," Danny suddenly said in a slick tone.

Mabel and Dipper turned around, "Are…" Dipper trailed as he looked down and then back up, "Are you sure?" He asked, "This is the fun part of the investigation," he tried to persuade.

"Oh, I'm sure. I feel a little sick," he said with a sinister grin.

"Alright, see you later, Danny!" Mabel waved as she began to skip. Dipper raised an eyebrow as he looked back at Danny, noticing the strange and odd behavior. He didn't question it much further as he focused his attention on the case he was on.

Jazz looked at her younger brother with worry, "You were feeling alright a few seconds ago," she mused as Danny rolled his eyes.

"We should go back to the cabin, Jasmine," Danny stated as he turned around and started to walk.

Jazz was about to copy is actions, but her eyes narrowed in suspicion about her full name being used, "You frootloop!" She accused as she grabbed her brother by his shoulders and forced him around, much to 'Danny's' surprise. "Get out of my brother, _now_!" She hissed out as she began shaking him harshly.

Danny chuckled in a low, menacing tone, "Now, Jasmine, this can either go two different ways," he said, not bothered by the shaking at all. "Tell Daniel to listen to me, or…" He trailed as Jazz narrowed her eyes.

"Or what?" She challenged as Danny shrugged nonchalantly.

"Or I can easily waste your idiot father at this very moment," Danny replied harshly.

Jazz took a step back in surprise, "Danny will find a way to end this once and for all," she spat out, trying to fight a losing battle with the older half ghost.

Danny chuckled again, "Daniel can't even fight off my duplicate's overshadow," he mused as Jazz narrowed her eyes. "Ah…" Danny trailed as he looked up at Jazz with a grin. "I might just exhaust his strength. I'll imagine that he will be quite tuckered out later in the day…"

Everything when silent as Danny's head suddenly slumped, "D-Danny?" Jazz asked as she placed a hand out towards her brother, not sure if it was Vlad, or Danny.

"What happened?" Danny asked as he looked around, his voice normal. "Where did Dipper and Mabel go?" He asked as he looked over at his sister. At seeing her worried eyes his face fell, "You look like you've seen a ghost…" He mumbled, his voice growing more and more suspicious.

Jazz let out a relieved sigh at seeing her brother alright, "It's fine. Let's go catch up with Mabel and Dipper," she suggested as they headed back to the Mystery Shack. She knew she was going to have to talk to her brother about Vlad possessing him, but for now they need to make sure that those kids didn't get into any more trouble.

Danny scratched his head in confusion, "Why do I have an urge to watch a Packer's game?" He asked as he hissed in pain, "And why do I have a pounding headache?" He asked again to himself as he closed his eyes. His joints were sore for some reason that he couldn't explain, but he figured it was due to all the day's activities.

* * *

"I can't believe that we didn't find the murderer," Dipper stated in a small disappointed tone. "I at least wanted to prove that I'm a great detective…" He trailed as he sat in one of the wooden chairs with a slump.

"Did we just have a funeral for a wax figure?" Jazz whispered over to her brother as he started rubbing his joints in pain. They were unusually sore, and he didn't know why.

Danny shrugged, "Stranger things have happened," he argued as he placed his arms down.

Mabel stood up suddenly, knocking the chair over on her brother, "I know what'll cheer you up! A glass of Mabel juice!" She yelled as she started to run over to the exit. She tripped over a wax figure, since they were all accumulated in one place for the funeral. She hit the ground harshly as a wax figure fell over. "What the heck?" She asked as she looked around the area as to what had tripped her.

"Mabel, are you okay?" Jazz asked as she turned around to help the girl up. Mabel rubbed her hand on her head slowly.

"I…Think so…" She trailed as the older girl helped the younger up on her feet. "Stupid wax-!" She started to state, since she had grown tired of all the wax figures from the day's events. "Is that a hole?" She asked as she examined the exposed foot of the tipped over figurine.

Danny and Dipper's heads perked up at this, "What did you say?" Dipper asked as Mabel chuckled in amusement.

"Oh, how could I forget, all wax figures have a hole in their right foot!" She stated as her eyes grew wide and she took a step back in fear. "The exact same footprints at the crime scene…" She trailed in a whisper.

"Wax figures can't-!" Jazz was about to protest but was suddenly cut off when a figurine charged at her. She shrieked as she dodged to the side, "Danny!" She cried as her younger brother glanced over at what was happening.

Danny stood up angrily and narrowed his eyes at seeing the wax figures becoming alive, "Stay away from my sister, you-!" He yelled as he rose a hand up, preparing to use a barely noticeable ecto-ray. He was frozen in place when he realized that he couldn't use any of his ghost powers. "Uh…" He trailed as his eyes went wide.

Dipper noticed Danny's unmoving form and slammed the chair on the ground. It broke off into splinters of smaller planks. He quickly grabbed two and threw one at Danny. He thought that the younger halfa wouldn't catch it, since he seemed to be uncoordinated, but his other free arm quickly caught it. The child narrowed his eyes in suspicion since the teen hadn't even turned his head to catch it. "Remember, they're wax!" Dipper called out.

"Gotcha," Danny stated as he noticed the fireplace over in the center of the room. He also noticed the hoard of wax replicas of famous people in front of him. He narrowed his eyes to better focus as he charged towards the fireplace. "Whoa!" He called out as Abraham Lincoln charged at him, "And you were my favorite president!" He yelled as he dodged underneath the wax figure. He reached the fireplace and quickly placed his plank in it. "Jazz, catch!" He yelled as he threw the blazing plank towards his sister, who was being surrounded by a circle of past presidents.

"Got it!" She informed as she jumped up and grabbed the plank of wood and swung it around in the air skillfully before slamming it down on a wax figurine head. "No need to… _Lose_ …Your head!" She yelled as she grinned towards her brother, who had grabbed another plank of wood, "Huh?" She gloated.

Danny groaned, "Seriously, Jazz?" He asked as he rolled his eyes.

Mabel chuckled as she dodged an attack from a wax figure, "I like that one! You got any more?" She asked as she glanced over at the older teen.

"I've got a whole book of them!" Jazz exclaimed with glee that someone was taking at interest in her witty banter.

"No!" Dipper and Danny yelled out in unison, not finding puns a very good idea on a regular basis. Danny then looked back at Dipper, "You should probably not let our sisters come up with battle puns," Danny deadpanned as Dipper nodded. Danny let parried an attack at one of the last wax figures.

"Agreed," Dipper supplied his answer as the last of the wax figures were melted.

Mabel looked around the battlefield, "Did we really just take out an army of wax figures?" She asked as Jazz glanced around all of the melted wax.

Dipper grinned as he looked over at his sister, "Are you going to make another wax figure?" He taunted as Danny grinned with him, finding the irony in the situation.

"Gosh, no!" Mabel yelled as she kicked some of the heaps of melted wax, "I'm staying away from wax for a long time!" She vowed as she stuck her tongue out at the melted substance.

"That's probably a…" Danny trailed as he started to sway on his feet, "A…" He repeated as his strength left him. The last thing he heard was an accumulative 'Danny!' as he blacked out.

* * *

Danny woke up to the passing of bright lights as he squinted his eyes open, "Jazz?" He asked as he sat up straighter, but found that he was in a car.

"Ah, I'm afraid not, little badger," Vlad stated with a chuckle, "Just your dear old uncle Vlad!" He exclaimed as he glanced over at the teen in the car to notice his change in posture. Danny was tense and Vlad saw a trace of fear in the teen's eyes before he tried to calm himself down. Vlad was positive that the teen couldn't feel his ghost powers, and knew that he was powerless.

"Where's Jazz?" He demanded as he refused to meet the older halfa's eyes. Danny kept his eyes on the road in front of him and noticed that the car door was locked.

Vlad smirked, "Now, do you have permission to ask a question?" He taunted the boy.

Danny let out a long sigh as he propped his arm up on the car door, "I'm not playing this game with you, Vlad," he said in a cold voice.

"Aren't you wondering why you were weak?" Vlad asked rhetorically. He knew this tactic would work against the boy, drawing him in. He didn't even need to glance over at the boy to know that he had grown suspicious. "Your ghost powers aren't working, are they, Daniel?"

"Can I ask a question?" Danny asked, finally getting fed up with the older halfa. Vlad nodded, though a smirk was on his face. He placed both hands on the steering wheel as he listened to Danny intently. "Why are you such a frootloop?" Danny asked, a devious smirk on his face.

Vlad made the car come to a stop and looked over at the boy, "Do you wish to test me?" He asked as he let go of the steering wheel.

Danny narrowed his eyes at the man, "Well, looks like I'm walking the rest of the way," the younger halfa stated as he unlocked the car door and opened it slowly. Danny didn't miss the barely noticeable widening of Vlad's eyes as the teen stuck a foot out on the road.

"Daniel, get back in the car," Vlad ordered in a stern voice.

"Why?" Danny asked as he stuck his other foot out, challenging the man. "Is there something in this forest that might get me?" He taunted as Vlad's eyes narrowed.

"I will not repeat myself," Vlad stated, dodging the question on purpose.

Danny slammed the door close, "Admit it, Vlad!" He accused, making Vlad's expression darken more, "There's something in this town that you don't want me knowing!" He yelled.

Vlad shrugged nonchalantly as he leaned back in his seat, "Do you think there's something in the forest, Daniel?" He asked, turning the tables on the teen. "How did you put it?" He asked, a smirk appearing on his face, "Gnomes?" He asked again.

"There were!" Danny argued as he rolled his eyes realizing that he didn't have the time, or the energy to argue with the man, "Forget it, I'll find my own way back," he finished the argument as he started to walk away.

"If there are things in this forest…" Vlad trailed out on purpose, "How will you plan on defending yourself?" He asked with a grin. Danny stopped walking and looked at the car. He noticed the smug smirk on Vlad's face before he groaned and decided to get back in the car. The teen was too disgusted with himself for giving into Vlad that he didn't even say anything as he slid into his seat. "I'm glad you're starting to listen to me, Daniel," he added as the car started to drive again in the darkness of night. "Good children are always supposed to listen to their parents," he stated.

Danny placed his hands over his ear and tried to tune him out, "I can't hear you!" He yelled as he glared at the older halfa. Vlad, in turn, grinned over at the teen.

* * *

Danny groaned as he woke up and looked over to find Jazz reading a book on her bed. He blinked to get rid of his sleepy stupor before he glared, "Where were you?" He asked as Jazz glanced up from the book she was reading.

"Ah, good morning, little brother!" She greeted with a smile. At seeing his unwavering gaze she sighed, "Or not," she mumbled as she placed the book down on her lap. "I was with Mabel," she stated curtly.

"What…" Danny trailed as he scratched his head in confusion and frustration, "What do you mean you were with Mabel?" He asked as Jazz seemed to shrug. "You weren't there, and I think Vlad is becoming more of a frootloop…" He stopped what he was saying when he noticed his sister tense up at the name. "What did he do?" He demanded with a darker glare.

Jazz quickly looked away from her brother, "Nothing…" She trailed as she started to fidget with her hands.

Danny grew more suspicious, "Oh wow," he mused out loud as he shook his head.

"What?" Jazz asked with narrowed eyes.

"You're hiding things from me!" He accused as she opened her mouth and furrowed her eyebrows in shock. "I can't believe this!" He yelled as he quickly stood up from his bed and placed a hand on his head.

She shook her head, "Wait a minute!" She yelled, "You were hiding things from me first!" She yelled back at him with a glare.

Danny took his hand off his head, "We agreed to not hide anything!" He yelled as Maddie knocked on the door. She opened it without hearing anything from her children.

"Is everything alright up here?" She asked with a raised eyebrow, "We heard yelling," she stated in concern as she glanced at her son and then her daughter. She opened the door wider and Vlad was standing next to her.

"Of course _you_ would be here," Danny mumbled as he turned his back on them and walked over to the window. Vlad half-smirked at hearing it due to his enhanced hearing from his ghost powers.

Maddie walked over to Jazz, "What's going on, sweetie?" She asked as Jazz glanced over at Vlad before looking down at the ground, "You know you can tell me anything," she persuaded gently.

Jazz shook her head, "Nothing's wrong," she said in a soft tone. She hated lying to her mother just because of the evil demented older half ghost that was standing guard over what she said.

"Nothing's wrong…" Danny trailed in a small mocking voice as he shook his head, "I can't believe you right now," he stated as he walked out of the room and glared over at Vlad. The older half ghost merely grinned back at him. His plan of tearing the sibling connection from them was working surprisingly well. All he had to do was wait and then Daniel would come running to him all on his own.

* * *

"Danny?" Dipper called out as he opened up the door. He was a little confused on why the teenager was at his doorstep. Literally. Danny shifted on his feet as he placed a hand up to the back of his neck, "What happened?" He inquired.

"Can we…Talk?" Danny asked awkwardly.

Dipper nodded slowly as he closed the door behind him, making them both outside the Mystery Shack, "What do you want to talk about?" He asked as they made their way over to the bench that was placed purposefully for tourists a little ways away from the entrance.

Danny groaned, "It's about my sister…" He trailed as he plopped himself onto the bench. Dipper hopped onto the bench because he was a little too short.

"Jazz?" Dipper asked, "She and Mabel had a slumber party last night…" He grumbled as he rubbed one of his arms unconsciously, "I mean, usually in the past Mabel's sleepovers are impossible to get any sleep at."

"Did she seem…" Danny trailed as he leaned forward on the bench some, "Distracted?" He asked as Dipper rose an eyebrow, "Like something was on her mind?" He clarified.

Dipper placed a hand to his chin in thought, "Now that you mention it, she did seem worried about something," he stated as he looked up at the teen, "When that creepy old man came to pick you guys up, he talked to Jazz alone."

Danny's head perked up at the new information, "Wait, he talked to her?" He asked as Dipper nodded, "Alone?" He reaffirmed, the fear wasn't hidden in his tone. "That's why she's been acting so distant! He must have threatened her!" He thought out loud. He glanced out of the corner of his eyes and noticed Dipper's eyes grow wide.

"Uh, what kind of-?" Dipper started to ask when suddenly he was interrupted by the Mystery Shack being opened up violently.

"Dip Dip!" Mabel yelled with a grin on her face. She glanced around outside for a few moments before her eyes landed on the person she found, "Oh, hey, Danny!" She greeted with a little wave at seeing the newcomer.

Dipper furrowed his eyebrows in confusion, "Did something happen?" He asked skeptically.

Mabel grinned as she wiggled her arms up and down, "Only the best thing ever!" She exaggerated, "There's a magic show in Gravity Falls!" She exclaimed with a beaming smile, "It's called the Tent of Telepathy, and it sounds genuinely awesome!"

"Tent of Telepathy?" Dipper asked as he rubbed his hand on his chin, "It sounds like a scam," he stated bluntly as Mabel narrowed her eyes.

"You and your conspiracy theories!" Mabel shook her head in disapproval. "I think it sounds like fun! So I'm going to go to it!" She argued as she started to walk off.

Dipper smirked, "Of course I'll come with you, Mabel!" He bragged as he walked over to his sister, "You coming, Danny?" He asked as he glanced over at the teen who rose an eyebrow at the mention of magic.

Danny shrugged as he stood up from his seat, "I guess I have nothing better to do today," he stated as Mabel jumped up and down in glee and started to clap her hands excitedly.

"It's a date!" Mabel yelled as she waited for the boys to catch up with her before continuing on her trek to the neighboring Tent of Telepathy.

* * *

"Why are there so many people here?" Danny questioned as he glanced around the area before sitting down next to Mabel.

"Seriously," Dipper agreed as he sat next to Danny, "The whole town is here," he stated dryly.

The lights started to dim and the curtains started to be drawn to the side, "Shh!" Mabel yelled. "It's starting!" She screamed as Dipper rolled his eyes.

A pudgy boy got up on stage with white hair, "Gross!" Danny mused as he sank back into his seat, "It's a miniature Vlad!" He yelled as Dipper chuckled.

"Hey, you know, he's got the white hair and that whole 'Ranch' theme going for him!" Dipper agreed from what he remembered of the image of Vlad Masters and compared it to the young boy in front of him.

"Welcome! Welcome!" Gideon addressed to the crowd with open arms, "Now, I'll predict that you'll all say…'Aww!'" He yelled as Danny and Dipper glanced at each other with a skeptical gaze. The white haired boy turned around and then showed his face to the audience with an overly dramatic face.

The audience did what he said and Danny scoffed, "Are you kidding me?" He asked as Dipper shook his head in agreement with the older teen.

"I know, right?" Dipper scoffed, "You'd have to be crazy to like this fraud!" He argued as Danny nodded before diverting his attention back to the stage performer, regardless of how fake he was acting.

"It came true!" Mabel exclaimed in amazement as she placed a hand up to her face in awe.

Danny and Dipper glanced at Mabel, each with an equally confused expression. Danny then whispered to Dipper, "If he sings, I'm out of here," he stated.

Gideon then took off his cape and tossed it into the audience, "Hit it, dad!" He ordered. Dipper watched as a girl caught the cape before she was trampled by other audience members.

"Ouch…" He mumbled as he cringed when he heard the woman fall to the ground.

"Ooooh-!" Gideon began to sing.

Danny stood up with an unamused expression, "And I'm out of here," he deadpanned as Dipper stood up as well.

"Me too," Dipper mused dryly as he rolled his eyes at the mediocre performance.

"You guys are missing the best part!" Mabel yelled as she reached for the two boys and pushed them back down on the seats.

Danny groaned, "Are you even listening to these lyrics?" He asked as he crossed his arms in disgust, "He's making them up on the spot!" He argued.

"Something tells me your name Mabel," Gideon addressed to Mabel as he went back up on the stage. She put a hand to her face in amazement.

"How'd he do that?" She asked as Dipper face palmed himself.

"It's on your shirt!" Dipper mumbled angrily at his sister's obliviousness.

"Thank you! You people are the real miracles!" Gideon addressed, making the audience cheer as the curtains closed.

Danny stood up along with Dipper at the same time, "That was as exciting as watching my dad blather on about ghosts," he mumbled under his breath as a headache started to form from all the numerous show numbers he was forced to listen to.

Dipper scratched his head, "Hah, yeah…" He trailed on, still in initial shock at how ridiculously far-fetched the show was. Once Danny's words had finally registered in his head, his eyes went wide, "Wait, did you say ghosts?" He asked in slight amazement.

"That was a cute little show!" Mabel yelled as she ran in-between the two boys with a grin as she placed her arms over their shoulders. Since Danny was a bit too tall, he was forced to crouch down slightly to be on her level. "I wonder why we haven't seen it before?" She mused out loud as she rose an eyebrow in thought.

"We did just get here, Mabel," Dipper brought up as his twin sister started to laugh.

"True!" She agreed as they started to walk away.

Danny felt a stare on them as he turned around slightly and noticed that Gideon was staring at them from a distance, "Hey!" He yelled trying to get the young creepy kid's attention. Once he knew he was spotted, the kid quickly hid behind his tent.

Dipper turned around, "What's up, Danny?" He asked as he noticed his friend's screaming. "Did you see something?" He asked, a nervous tone creeping up on him.

"Not sure yet," Danny called back with narrowed eyes in the place where Gideon had disappeared to. He turned back around and walked the kid's safely back to the mystery shack and gave a little wave as he stuck his hands in his pockets.

"You must get satisfaction against disobeying rules," Plasmius' voice rang out as the teen was walking through the woods.

Danny scoffed as he tried to sense the older half ghost's presence, "Only when it's a creepy frootloop's twisted fetish," he stated back. He knew he was practically asking for trouble when he fought against Vlad, and he wasn't disappointed.

A pink ecto-blast hit him in the back making him take a few steps forward, "Ah, Daniel, if my rules are the only thing that has you upset, then I suppose that's a good thing," he drawled out in a mysterious tone.

"It's not just your stupid rules!" Danny yelled out as he willed himself into Danny Phantom. Since he had a night's rest to restore his ghostly energy, he was up to full power. "It's this forced summer vacation!" He yelled in irritation as he quickly soared to the skies and looked for his arch enemy. "Show yourself, Plasmius!"

"As you wish, little badger," Plasmius' voice came from behind him and shot him in the side with a powerful ecto-blast this time. This made Danny growl in anger as he fisted both hands with his own ecto-energy and looked around the area. He was greeted with a grinning form of Vlad Plasmius with his arms crossed.

Danny fired his ecto-blasts at the older halfa, but knew they wouldn't make contact with the man. He wasn't surprised when a pink barrier appeared around the man; making his attacks useless. "What's the real reason you brought us out here?" He demanded, trying once more to gain information with the sociopathic older hybrid.

Vlad chuckled, "All this paranoia has gotten to you," he stated, making Danny clench his teeth.

"I don't have paranoia!" Danny denied which earned his a shrug from his enemy, "You're up to something!" He accused as Vlad shook his head in a lecturing manner.

"Usually when you accuse someone of something…" He trailed as he let out a fanged smirk, "That is what is referred as paranoia, Daniel," he mused.

Danny glared at the man in response, "You talked to Jazz," he stated.

Vlad nodded, "I did," he agreed as he rose an eyebrow, "What does this have to do with anything?" He asked, trying to get straight to the point.

"You threatened her," Danny accused as Vlad cocked his head to the side, which started to ignite the burning rage within the younger halfa.

"Did I?" He taunted, "I would hardly call a sit-down chat a threat," he stated in an off-handed manner as he watched how angry the young teen was getting.

Danny unwillingly went intangible from his raging emotions as he let out a small gasp of surprise, "I need to stop…" He trailed as he placed a hand on his head, "Why do I…?" He asked as he looked up at his arch enemy, only to see double vision.

Vlad started to fly over to the drowsy teen, "My blasts were infused with a fast acting sedative, my boy," he explained as Danny started to lose altitude by hovering slowly downwards, "Because like it or not, you do have a curfew," he lectured as Danny felt the man's hands touch his shoulders.

"Don't!" He yelled out but didn't have enough energy to fight back, even though he tried doing so with all of his might. Vlad chuckled as he placed the boy over his shoulder and started to fly in the direction of the house.

"I'm not planning anything, Daniel," Vlad stated, which made the teen glare half-heartedly at the man due to his sleep stupor that was slowly overcoming him. "I want you to enjoy a summer away from the ghost hunting and have fun," he said in such a tone that if the teen didn't know him, he would have believed him in an instant.

Danny placed his hands against the other halfa, trying to get away from him, "I don't…Believe you…" He trailed as he felt his strength give out. He involuntarily changed back into Danny Fenton and fell asleep in that instant.

Vlad glanced back at the teen with a dark twisted grin, "But soon you will, my boy. Believe me, you'll be running to me because you will have no one else to turn to," he replied to the unconscious teenager. "Once your will falls, so will your precious pathetic morals you desperately cling to," he mused out loud as he spotted the cabin they were staying at in the distance.

* * *

 **A/N: Vlad is so being a jerk right now. Also, Danny is very clueless, but that's why we all love him. Dipper is trying to slowly uncover the secrets of the Fenton family. Mabel just wants a bestfriend. Tune in next time guys!**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Soup, guys? Where have I been? I've been writing this story. I had to revise it a couple of time, but I like it. Did you guys here that Gravity Falls is ending in season 2? That's a bummer. But I'll still be writing this story long after Gravity Falls stops. Who knows, I might even be up fro writing a season 3 as far as that goes. We'll have to wait and see how college is treating me.**

 **I suck at the game 'go fish' just saying.**

 **Your reviews are so nice, guys. I blush every time I read them. You people are the real miracles, I swear.**

 **I'm not sure if you catch some of the Undertale references, but that's what I've been doing these past two weeks. That game is so sweet. I so recommend. Nine paws in the air.**

 **This chapter finished up the 'Hand that rocks the Mabel' and it took so long. Like 11.5K words, but I knew I needed to get it done. So, as promised, here it is! Feel free to leave a review and stuff.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Danny Phantom or Gravity Falls.**

* * *

Waking up from an induced sleep hit Danny like a bullet train. He sat up from his bed slowly and immediately clutched his head in his hands. Waking up from an induced sleep that your arch enemy put you into was even worse. The young halfa groaned as he heard a knock at the door, he glanced to the empty bed beside him and noticed that his sister was gone. "What?" He asked in a low tone.

"Hey, sweetie," Maddie stated in a concerned tone, "Your father and I are going for a walk around the town. We'll be back in an hour or so," she informed as she stood next to the door, waiting for the response from the teenager.

"Okay?" Danny asked as the headache started to subside, he hadn't truthfully heard what his mother had said to him. He just wanted her to leave him in peace so he could clearly think without getting a sudden pain through his skull. Her footsteps were light and careful as she walked away, but Danny with his enhanced hearing had still picked it up. "Wait…" He trailed, coming to a realization as his eyes went wide. He threw the blanket off him and stood up immediately, swaying slightly from the sudden movement. He ran to the door in hopes that he could still catch his mother. Maybe he could join them so he wouldn't have to be with Vlad alone. As he opened the door and was about to step out, the dreaded figure that he didn't want to see was grinning down at him. "Seriously?" He whispered incredulously as he let out a groan and placed his hands on his head. He started to walk back to where his bed was.

Vlad didn't need an invitation as he strode into the room, "You thought you could avoid me?" He asked as he crossed his arms in amusement, "Such a childish notion, Daniel," he reprimanded sarcastically.

Danny glared as he turned around to face the older halfa, "Yeah, you know what?" He asked rhetorically, taking a few challenging steps toward the man, "I'm _not_ dealing with this," he muttered as he turned intangible and walked right through him. Vlad rolled his eyes as he followed the teen out into the hallway.

"Your sister is with that Pines child," Vlad stated as Danny halted his walking and glanced back at the man, "They do seem to be spending a lot of time together as of late," he informed, watching the annoyance on the teen's face with a smirk.

"I'm not in charge of her," Danny snapped back, "She can hang out with whoever she wants," he spat out as he started to walk again.

Vlad chuckled, making him freeze up. When the older halfa did any sort of mocking, it usually spelt bad news for him, "Perhaps we could do something…" He trailed as Danny turned to look at him as if he were stupid, "As father and son that is."

Danny responded the way exactly as Vlad was expecting, "Why would I _ever_ want to willingly spend time with _you_?" He asked with a scowl as he started to walk again, only for a pink ecto-blast to spiral into the wall in front of him harshly. The teen looked at the scorch mark on the wall and started to panic slightly.

"I wasn't asking," Vlad retorted in a dark tone. Danny turned around and tried to control his heartbeat. He felt a strange fear overcome him, and he didn't know if Vlad was serious. He knew that Vlad would fight dirty if they engaged in a fight again. The ecto-blast infused sedatives from the night before proved that. Should he fight him and prove that he was his own person and couldn't be controlled? Or should he play along with him? "The next one won't miss, my boy," Vlad said as he started to walk past him, "Come along," he ordered lightly.

"No," Danny stated as soon as the older halfa passed him.

The teen's outburst surprised the older man, he rose an eyebrow at Danny's defiance, "No?" He asked with a light air about it. Although he asked it in such a way, it sent shivers down the boy's spine. "Are you defying me?" He asked as he spun on his heels and faced the teen. "I recall a certain bet that bound you to me for eternity," he stated.

Danny's eyes widened as he turned to face the man with a glare. Although he tried to look intimidating, he looked more terrified by the second, "You-! I didn't!" He sputtered as he tried forming his words. It couldn't be true. He didn't think that such a harmless bet would hold such drastic consequences, "You never said what you got!" He protested.

"Ah," Vlad remarked, making eye contact with the teen. It made Danny feel lower than the dirt itself, "But isn't that your fault for not knowing what you were betting?" Vlad asked as Danny felt weak in the knees. It felt as if he had just given away his soul to the devil. He should have known what betting against a master manipulator would do. "It is a good thing that your dear sister wasn't along…She might have talked you out of it."

"That's why you're keeping her away from me!" Danny accused, "So that I keep making these stupid mistakes all the time!" He yelled, mostly to himself as he shook his head, "No way…This can't be happening…" He trailed as he looked at the ground and tried to gather his thoughts. What could he do? Vlad held all the cards in his hand, and he didn't know if he could get them back. "I want a rematch," Danny said suddenly.

Vlad looked at Danny with a raised eyebrow, "Dear boy, I already have what I want…" He trailed as he heard the boy's breathing become irregular. He knew that the teen was trying to get out of it, it was rather amusing for him.

Danny closed his eyes in thought for a few seconds, thinking what else the man wanted but didn't yet have. The teen then opened them, "I'll join you," he said, making Vlad's eyes widen slightly for a second before he smirked, "But, I get to choose the game," he said, making Vlad's smug smirk vanish slightly.

"The game doesn't matter so long as the pawn remains the same," Vlad remarked, making Danny cringe at what he was offering up at the table, "I suppose you want your freedom back if you win?" He asked as he started to head down the stairs. The way Vlad had said it, he wasn't taking Danny as a threat. He didn't think that the teen could prove to be a challenge to him. This made the teen want to prove him wrong; that he wasn't going down without a fight.

"Don't you mean _when_?" Danny asked with a smirk, regaining his confidence back. He could do this, he could win and then he wouldn't have Vlad breathing down his back every second. That the older halfa wouldn't be able to dictate his every action. With his current circumstances it was like Vlad was controlling him. To Danny, it was as if he had already joined him, just without being addressed out loud. Vlad merely chuckled as he brushed aside the teen's pride with what he had said.

The older halfa reached to the bottom of the stairs, Danny joined him with a grin, "What game?" Vlad asked as Danny's grin turned into a smirk.

"Go fish," he boasted as Vlad stared hard at the teen before he rolled his eyes at the somewhat childish game, "And since I issued the challenge, I get to dictate the rules."

"As you wish, Daniel," Vlad mused dryly as he picked up a simple card deck from a drawer in the kitchen. They situated themselves over at the kitchen table, "What rules?"

"No ghost powers," Danny said with a serious tone, "This is a nice and fair game of go fish," he stated as he looked slyly at Vlad, "Or is that too simple for you?" He taunted.

Vlad shrugged as he shuffled the cards, "It's all the same to me," he said as he looked at the teen dead in the eye, "Just know that after this game you'll be by my side," he stated with a serious tone as he started to hand out the seven cards.

Danny scoffed as he picked up the cards, "Don't be mad because you're going to lose," he mumbled under his breath as he spread them out in his hands. He needed to play this game like his life depended on it. Because it did.

"You really do make this too easy, Daniel," Vlad remarked as he picked up his own cards and looked them over. After a few seconds of deciding how he would proceed, the older halfa looked up at the teen, "White usually goes first."

"This isn't _chess_ , Vlad," Danny remarked as he glared his eyes at the older halfa for the constant chess analogies from him. It bothered the teen that Vlad thought of people like things he could move and predict. These weren't pieces to a game he was playing with, these were human beings with lives.

Vlad waved off the hostility, looking down at his cards for a brief moment, "It's a figure of speech, little badger," he claimed as he looked up at the young teen in front of him, "Though you won't be white after _this_ game, will you?" He taunted, much to the teen's annoyance.

Danny's left eye twitched, "Got any twos?" He asked, beginning the game that would change his life. He couldn't afford to lose, not with this much on the line.

* * *

"Oh?" Danny asked as he got the last of his cards out, "Looks like this is a win for _me_ , huh?" He asked, not afraid to gloat in his enemy's face. It was at this moment that Maddie and Jack walked through the door. The older halfa started to grow frustrated. A question popped up in his head, how could he lose such a childish and trivial game? The thought never occurred to him that the game was meant for children, and it wasn't supposed to be played with such a serious intent.

Vlad opened his mouth to retort, but closed it upon seeing the company, "Ah, how was your walk?" He asked politely, losing all anger and frustration from his face. He pushed his thoughts aside for the moment, he would find a way to turn everything in his favor once more at a later date. "Did you see anything interesting?"

Danny, who just now noticed that his parents returned, glanced up with a big grin on his face, "Hey!" He greeted with a small wave, "We were just playing a game of cards, but now I feel like getting some air," he remarked, he couldn't keep his victory out of his tone. "See you guys later!" He yelled as he stood up from his seat and ran out the door. It felt good to have his freedom back and not be held back by Vlad's stupid rules.

He transformed into his ghostly counterpart and took to the skies when the coast was clear, "Seriously! This is how summer is _supposed_ to feel!" He yelled with happiness. He did a few loops in the air and then started to fly backwards. He didn't care where he was going, so long as it was where he wanted to go. "He never knew that I was a go fish champion when I was younger," he mumbled with a grin on his face.

"What am I supposed to do!" Yelled a voice in despair. Danny knew that voice as his eyes widened in realization and worry.

"Jazz…?" He asked as he flew down to see his sister, he turned invisible as he landed on the forest ground. Jazz was sitting on a rock with her knees pulled up to her chest.

"I can't keep doing this to him, he's going to _hate_ me!" Jazz yelled as she shook her head, "I can't keep distancing myself from him…He's my _brother_ ," Jazz whispered. Danny realized that his eavesdropping session was turning out to be more interesting than he realized, "But on the other hand…If I don't do what he says then-!" She yelled as she let out a frustrated scream.

Danny chose this time to reveal himself as he dropped his invisibility, "Jazz?" He asked as he started to walk towards her. She glanced up and nearly fell off her rock as he was right in front of her. She looked started at first, and then guilt started to show. "What's wrong?"

Jazz looked away, "Nothing. You can't do anything for me," she mumbled as she dug her head in her knees, "I just want this summer to be over…" She whispered as tears started to fall down her face.

"You can tell me what's wrong, I can help," Danny tried to persuade as he held out his hand to touch his sister's shoulder, only for her to flinch away from his touch. Danny's reaction was instant, his eyes went wide. She saw the hurt in his eyes, and she felt ashamed and sick. She was treating her brother like a stranger to protect him. To protect their family.

"You can't help me!" She yelled as she ran away from him.

Danny felt rejection and it filled him to the brim. He was shocked that his sister would act that way towards him and stood there for a few seconds. The young halfa was speechless and couldn't open his mouth to say anything. He didn't seem to notice the small footsteps start to reach where he was.

"What-?" Dipper asked as he spotted a ghost in the middle of the woods. He quickly took a few steps back into a tree to take cover. "Did he see me?" He whispered as he glanced over the tree and observed the teenaged ghost. "What's he doing?"

"I…" He trailed out as he brought his hand back to his side, "What good am I to them?" He asked to himself as he walked over to where the rock was and leaned against it. He let out a dejected sigh and looked up at the sky.

Dipper could only look at the ghostly teenager and felt his despair from all the way across the forest. It felt like somebody had stabbed his heart with a fork thirty times and it wasn't letting up. He pulled out the journal from inside his jacket pocket and began to flip through the pages. There had to be a section on ghosts in there, there just had to be. He wondered if the ghost in front of him was in there, considering he had seen him once before. He remembered the gnome attack and how cocky the ghost was acting, even if he did save his and Mabel's lives.

"A mess up," Danny mused out as he slide against the rock, unable to stand, " _That's_ why she doesn't want me around," he thought out loud as he placed his hand down on the ground. The small patch of grass that his hand touched had slowly turned to ice, "All because of me keeping secrets first…Maybe she doesn't trust me anymore," Danny trailed.

Dipper looked over at the ghost upon finding the section on it in the journal, "He doesn't seem like a level nine…" He mumbled as he looked at the ice that the ghost had caused, "But that's a little weird. Ghosts can't do that… _Can_ _they_?"

Danny glanced at Dipper, paying enough attention to his surroundings to hear his rambling, "I know you're there…" He mumbled as he rolled his eyes, "You know, we can hear a lot better than normal people," he informed as Dipper froze where he stood. "I'm not going to hurt you."

"If you're not going to hurt me…" Dipper stated as he started to walk over to where the ghost was, "Would you mind answering a few questions?" He asked in excitement as he brought out a pen from his jacket as well as the journal to add things to the ghost section.

"I guess," Danny mumbled as he stood up, "Ask away," he said in a monotone.

Dipper smiled as he opened up the book eagerly and clicked the pen to write with it, "Okay, first question!" He announced as he had the pen ready to write something, but looked over at the ghost, "Are…Are you okay, man?" He asked in genuine concern.

Danny sighed, "How would you feel if your sister didn't want your help?" He asked, looking at the young boy with a small smile.

"I would help her anyway," Dipper said immediately, not even having to think about it, "Ma – ah – My sister is very close to me," he caught himself from saying Mabel's name to protect her. Danny found that sweet and wondered if Mabel would do the same for Dipper if the situation was reversed.

The young halfa was about to say something else, but familiar white rings appeared around his waist and he stood up with shock, "No!" He yelled as he wildly looked around the forest, thinking of what he should do, "This can't be happening!" He yelled in denial. Dipper looked at him cautiously as he took a few steps back. "Sorry, I have to go," he yelled as he turned intangible and disappeared from his view. Danny sought refuge behind a bush as he unwillingly transformed back into Danny Fenton.

Dipper looked around the area and then kicked the ground, "So close to getting some _real_ answers around here!" He yelled in disappointment. Danny felt sorry for the kid, but knew that if he revealed himself, the kid would piece together everything easily. He was smarter than he looks, and more observant as well.

Danny let out a sigh of relief when he heard the boy's retreating footsteps. He was most likely heading back to the Mystery Shack, it made the young halfa question why the child was all the way out in the forest by himself. He knew that the forest could be dangerous. "Why did I change back?" He asked.

"Because of the rejection of your sister," Plasmius' voice offered his answer.

Danny looked up with shock as he found the grinning form of Vlad Plasmius was floating in front of him, "Would you get away from me!" He yelled half-heartedly. "I really don't need you right now," he hissed out.

Vlad brushed off his hostility for the second time that day, "You cut it close with that human child," he mused as he landed on the ground, his arms crossed, "Might I also inform you that your core is malfunctioning?"

"What are you talking about?" Danny asked in fear as he looked up at the older halfa, "What does that even mean?" He asked quickly.

"Why, Daniel, I thought you said you didn't need me right now?" Vlad mocked with a smirk, "Perhaps I should take my knowledge elsewhere?" He taunted.

Danny glared at the man, "You're right," the teen stated as he stood up, "I never needed your help before, and I certainly don't need it now," he scoffed as he took a few steps before Vlad's hand latched onto his arm.

The older halfa shook his head in disapproval, "That's where you're wrong," he answered, making Danny turn to face him with a confused expression, "Due to your sister's betrayal…You are feeling rejected, aren't you?" He asked as Danny's confusion started to ease.

"How do you know?" Danny asked suspiciously.

"What you need is acceptance," Vlad stated, he watched as the teen's face tightened up as a result and he tried to get away from the older hybrid, "I can give that to you…" He trailed cryptically, trying to be persuasive.

Danny rolled his eyes, "Yeah, at a price," he scowled, "I just got my freedom, I'm not giving it up again," he spat out as he pulled out of his grip. "I don't need you, Vlad, and I'll never need you," he mused as he started to walk away.

Vlad shrugged, "I'll be waiting for you to change your mind, Daniel," he mused happily, "Because one day you'll need me. I will be the only one who understands," he stated.

"Shove it, Vlad," Danny retorted, not taking their conversation to heart, "There will _never_ be a day I'll need _you_ ," he stated as he disappeared from sight.

"That's where you're wrong, my boy," Vlad remarked in a dark tone, watching where the teen left with a smirk on his face.

* * *

"You have this," Gideon mumbled to himself as he stood outside of the mystery shack, "Who can say no to you?" He asked as he patted his face. He was about to ring the doorbell, when suddenly Danny walked up to the door from the woods.

"Oh, aren't you that kid from last night?" Danny questioned as he walked over to where the white haired kid was, "Charles?" He asked.

Gideon looked over at the teenager and glared at him, "Gideon Gleeful, as a matter of fact," he responded with a hiss, "Would you mind? I'm about to do something important," he said with an air of sophistication. It reminded the young halfa of Vlad and he rolled his eyes.

"Never mind, I'll just call you Vlad Jr.," Danny mumbled as he knocked at the door before Gideon could get the chance. The white haired kid looked angered as he gave a glare at Danny again, "Thought I'd do you a favor…" He trailed with a cheeky grin, "I don't think you're tall enough to reach the door," he teased.

"You will not talk down to me!" Gideon yelled.

Danny chuckled, "Okay, but how else am I supposed to talk to you?" He asked as his grin turned into a smirk at how easy the kid was letting him pick on him, "I mean, you're too short for me to talk up to!" Danny mused as Mabel opened the door.

"Danny!" Mabel greeted as she blinked her eyes, letting the gems that she had glued to her face fall onto his white shirt. "Oops, sorry 'bout that!" She apologized meekly, "I just got into my bedazzle gun!"

"I can see that," Danny commented as he looked down at his shirt, "It looks like a smiley face, Mabel," he pointed out as they both started to laugh, completely ignoring Gideon.

The white haired child growled, alerting the two to his presence, "Ah, Mabel, it's little old me!" He greeted as he posed slightly and did a 'cute' face to impress her. Mabel rubbed the back of her neck sheepishly as she looked at the child in an awkward manner.

"Yeah…" She trailed, "I kind of didn't see you there, Gideon…" She apologized, and Gideon's face scrunched up in anger before he controlled it. He quickly dismissed his rage and tried to place his act back up again.

"I was wondering if you wanted to go on a date with me today," Gideon said with a grin, "We could-!" He began to say, but was cut off by Mabel.

"Try on dresses and do each other's makeup!" She answered for the man, "Sounds like fun!" She yelled as she opened the door for Danny, "Dipper's in the living room writing in his diary," she commented. At the mention of diary, Gideon's face perked up, but was then converted to shock as Mabel took his hand forcefully, "Well, let's get going!" She yelled in excitement.

Danny watched as the two left, but he had a bad feeling about Gideon. "Anyone who reminds me of Vlad can't be good…" He trailed as he shook his head. He made a mental note to keep an eye on them if they ever went out again. He entered the shack and looked for Dipper, he was worried about the encounter from before. "Dipper?" He called out.

Dipper made a hum, "In here!" He yelled as the teen entered the living room, "Jazz left about thirty minutes ago," he mused as he didn't bother to close the journal.

"Is that your diary that Mabel said you were writing in?" Danny questioned, trying to discover the secret that is Dipper Pines. Dipper, who noticed that the teen had entered the room too late, quickly shut his journal, "You don't have to be ashamed about it," Danny stated, trying to make the situation easier on the both of them, "A lot of people keep journals."

"It's not-!" Dipper yelled as he shook his head, "I figured it would be hard to keep a secret like this for long," he said as he waved Danny over to him. The teen rose an eyebrow but did what the child wanted, "You're going to think I'm weird," Dipper admitted sheepishly, embarrassment rising in him.

Danny shook his head, "My parents are ghost hunters, Dipper…" The teen answered dryly as he rolled his eyes, "I don't think that your journal is going to get weirder than that."

Dipper looked to the left to avoid Danny's gaze, "Oh, you'd be surprised," he mused as he opened up the journal, "I found this my first week in Gravity Falls," he stated as he started to flip through the journal and Danny observed the various different creatures that were posted in there. "It has gnomes, vampires, zombies…" He trailed as he looked up at the teen to see his expression, "You name it, it's in here."

"It's not like anything I've ever seen before," Danny admitted as he spotted an entry with what looked like multiple graphs, "What's that one?" He asked as he pointed at it.

"That?" Dipper asked as he tried to get a better look at it, "I've studied that page for hours, and to me…" He trailed as he looked back up at the young halfa, "It looks like a portal."

Danny nodded, not surprised at all, "A portal to where?" He asked in thought and curiosity. After all, he had his fair share dealing with portals. I mean, the fact that he was a half ghost came from his parent's invention in their basement.

Dipper rose an eyebrow in suspicion, "You're not surprised?" He asked, taking note of the teen's unchanging expression, "Have you seen something like this before?" He asked, his tone getting filled with suspicion.

"Not exactly like this one…" Danny trailed as he rubbed the back of his neck. Where should he start with his tale? He couldn't tell him that he was half-ghost. The fewer people that knew the better, "But – Uh…" He mumbled as he sighed, "My parents are ghost hunters."

"What?" Dipper asked, excitement in his tone, "Why didn't you tell me before?" He asked with a grin, "That's so awesome! You have to introduce me!"

Danny chuckled, "I will, I promise," he admitted as he looked at the book, drawing his attention to the topic at hand, "But my parents built a portal," he stated as Dipper nodded for him to continue, "To the Ghost Zone," he said.

Dipper's eyes widened in surprise and shock, "Is…Is that even possible?" He asked in disbelief.

"They made it possible," Danny responded with a small amount of pride, "Anyways, point is, I know a portal when I see one," he admitted honestly as Dipper looked back at the book.

"But if it is a portal, then…" Dipper mumbled as he closed the book, "There has to be more journals out there that must have the other parts of the portal!" He answered his own question with a smile, "But how would I find them?" He asked as Danny shrugged.

The teen stood up straight, "I don't know dude, but you're smart enough to figure it out," he mused with a soft smile. Dipper looked up at him and smiled back at him, "I'm going to head back to my place, so see you tomorrow," Danny said goodbye as he started to exit the mystery shack.

Dipper nodded, taking the book under his arm as he stood from his chair, "I wasn't kidding about talking to your parents!" He called out with a grin.

"I know!" Dipper heard Danny's retreating voice. Dipper's grin grew slightly bigger. He never knew what it was like to connect with someone with the same interests as him. Even thought it was only about ghosts, he really felt like he could trust Danny. After all, he told him about the journal, and it had only been a couple of days.

* * *

"I'm not going to a ritzy place!" Danny yelled as he crossed his arms. He leaned back in the couch in an act of defiance. If only he could turn intangible to disappear into the couch. "They probably don't even have good food!" He argued weakly.

"Danny…" Maddie trailed in a tone that Danny cringed for not listening to her, "Vlad is treating us to an extravagant dinner tonight. The least we can do is partake in it," she lectured as she shook her head in disapproval at her son.

Danny rolled his eyes, "I think I'll set this one out, mom," he mumbled as he looked away from his mother. He didn't want to feel pressured into saying yes, and knew he would break under the scrutinizing stare of his mother. "No offense to Vlad or anything," he added with a ghost of a smile on his face.

Jack ran over to him, "Are you ready to go, Danny-o?" He asked with excitement, "I hear they have live lobster! Isn't that exciting?" He asked as Danny rolled his eyes again, not wanting to be bothered anymore on the topic.

"He doesn't want to go, Jack," Maddie said in a dejected tone, "I suppose he'll just have to stay here alone," she stated as Jack let out a whine to object.

"Danny-boy, I really wanted to share a live lobster with you…" He trailed in a hurt tone.

Danny let out a groan. He wished he had earplugs as well as going intangible through the couch, "Okay! I'll go!" He yelled as he stood up from the couch, not believing that he had said yes. After all, this was just another one of Vlad's tactics to scheme against him. He still didn't know what he wanted, or what he had hoped to gain during this summer vacation. His parents let out consecutive cheers as they walked into the kitchen to gather their things.

"You had almost won," Vlad mused as he appeared leaning against the couch with his arms crossed. Danny glared at him for using his powers to watch his conversation, "Yet, indirectly I always win," he mused as he shrugged, standing up with a smirk on his face, "Shall we go?" He asked as he started to walk towards the exit.

"Why are you so happy?" Danny asked in suspicion, "I've beaten you at your own game," he commented as Vlad looked at him.

The older halfa then smirked, "If you've truly won, then why are you still here?" He taunted, knowing it would grate on the younger halfa's nerves. It did, and Danny tried to give him the 'scary eyes' but nothing would show up. He blinked as he looked down at his hand and tried to make a quick ecto-blast, his anxiety rising in his chest. When nothing came to the surface, his anxiety turned into fear. He looked up at Vlad, unable to hide his panic, "As I've said before, Daniel, I always win." He mused as he did a half-smirk before opening up the door.

Danny's parents walked through the hallway quickly with grins on their faces, completely oblivious to Danny's change in demeanor. He could only stare at Vlad in shock and was frozen stiff at the fatal realization; he had lost his ghost powers. Vlad noticed this and waved for the teen to follow his parents out the door. Danny tried his best to push away his raging emotions, but to no avail. He almost tripped out the door, making Vlad chuckle, "All it would take is one single sentence to change your situation," he said in a sing-song tone.

"I'm not that desperate, Vlad," Danny hissed out as he recollected his footing and stomped over to where the car was. Since his back was turned, he failed to notice Vlad's dark smirk as the older halfa closed the door behind him.

* * *

Walking over to the table felt like torture for the young halfa, "You never told me why Jazz isn't here," Danny said as he looked at his mother for an explanation.

Maddie shifted uncomfortably, "She wanted to catch up on her summer reading and said she would be down at the library," she said as they reached their table. Danny did a barely noticeable frown at that statement, he knew that Jazz was bluffing with the summer reading excuse. He started to get worried and felt offended that Jazz would purposefully ignore him. "She has been gone for a while though…I should call her…" She trailed as she pulled out a simple flip phone.

"She'll be fine," Vlad mused as he placed a hand on Maddie's, making her lower the cell phone, "After all, she'll be off to college when fall rolls around, won't she?" He asked with a small smile. Maddie nodded with a very small smile as she placed her phone back in her pocket.

"Or you know…" Danny trailed, drawing the attention of everyone, "You could check up on her," he stated, hinting that he was concerned about his sister. Jack rose an eyebrow and nodded and his wife. She stood up to take the call as Jack observed the scenery of the extravagant restaurant.

Vlad chuckled darkly, "How sweet of you to care about her after the way she left you in the forest," he whispered, barely above a hearable level.

Danny glared at the man, "She's still my _sister_ , frootloop!" He hissed out, making Vlad clench his teeth at the nickname that Danny reserved for him.

" _She's_ the reason why your core is _malfunctioning_ , you stupid boy!" Vlad yelled, letting his anger slip up, he unleashed his own version of Danny's 'scary eyes' as he said it. Danny's will immediately felt drained as he looked away. Vlad had never been that brutally honest with him, and it hurt.

"What will you be having tonight?" Asked the waiter as he walked over to the table with a notepad in his hands.

Jack grinned, "I'll be having the lobster! It seems to be the only thing on the menu!" He commented as he turned to look at the waiter. The waiter look unamused as he blinked dryly, "And my wife will be having the same thing," he said in a friendly manner as he started to pile the menus together.

Vlad and Danny looked up as the waiter moved over to them, "And you two?" The waiter asked with a straight expression on his face, "The same I'll take it?" He asked in an uninterested tone. "Your food will be out in a few minutes…" He trailed, placing the notepad down to his sides. He took slow footsteps back to the kitchen.

"He seems like a swell guy!" Jack remarked, oblivious to everything that was around him. He went back to looking at the scenery again, his eyes catching a fish tank towards the back. "Is that an endangered red crabbed lobster?" He mumbled as he stood up and went to investigate.

Vlad and Danny sat in silence, "Why does it hurt so much…?" Danny mumbled as Vlad glanced over at the teen, "It feels so bad…Like my heart is being ripped apart," he stated openly. The teen began to wonder why he was telling Vlad all of this willingly. The words had left his mouth before he could stop them.

Vlad scoffed at the teen's ignorance to their ghost side, "Every ghost has an obsession, Daniel," he muttered as he sat back in his seat, "Hybrids are no exception to that rule," he informed as he looked at the teen to see if he was listening. To the older halfa's surprise, Danny was hanging onto every word he spoke. The man had to refrain himself from smirking at the boy's compliance. He had expected this from the teen, he just had never thought that he would see the boy actually do it. "Your obsession is to protect," Vlad spat out as he rolled his eyes, "Such an easily broken obsession, my boy, you should have accepted my offer from the reunion…" He trailed as he shook his head.

"What about an obsession?" Danny pressed, trying to hold the desperation out of his voice, "My obsession in particular?"

"Rejection is your kryptonite so to speak," Vlad stated, "Your sister rejected you, making your core unstable. It is a serious matter, as you have witnessed yourself."

Danny nodded numbly, "My ghost powers…" He trailed as he placed a hand to his chest. He suddenly grew panicked, "They aren't gone forever, are they?" He asked in a hurried rush.

Vlad chuckled, "Of course not, Daniel, don't be idiotic," he insulted as he crossed his arms and Danny started to grow angry with every word that Vlad was saying, "They are simply locked away. They can come back with an act of acceptance," Vlad said as he shook his head, "However, that still doesn't change the fact that Jasmine has made you ultimately useless."

"She didn't know what she was doing!" Danny defended as he glared, letting his anger get the better of him.

"And by doing that, she has made it so I may do whatever I wish," Vlad mused as the waiter started to come back to the table, "I could easily destroy your father at this very moment, and you would be powerless to stop me!" He threatened with a dark tone.

Danny's eyes grew wide as he understood what the older halfa meant, "Vlad, please don't-!" He began to plead, much to Vlad's amusement.

"Jack!" Maddie yelled as she ran into the restaurant, "Jack, no! You can't go into the tank!" She yelled with fear. She ran to where her husband was and tried to pull him down to the floor.

"But Madds! It's the endangered red crabbed – Oh no!" He yelled as he lost his footing and fell head first into the tank, effectively shattering it. It left the entire area covered in water, and Danny quickly stood up to help his father.

"Dad!" Danny yelled as he ran over to where the man was, "Are you okay?" He asked as he started to help him up. Vlad watched the action with narrowed eyes. The older half ghost was jealous that he got the woman that he loved and a devoted son. Shrugging the jealousy away, he straightened his suit and reminded himself that his time was coming. Patience was a virtue.

When Vlad got there, he found that two children were drenched. One had white hair, which the older halfa found peculiar, and the other was Mabel Pines. "Ah, sorry for my friend's incompetence," he apologized half-heartedly to the children.

Danny heard what he said and glared at him, though didn't say anything about it, "It is not your fault," Gideon remarked as he straightened his own suit, "After all, you cannot control someone else's idiotic tendencies…" He mumbled.

"Danny?" Mabel asked as she grinned and ran over to him, the ankle high water being sloshed against her feet as she ran.

"Oh, hey, Mabel," Danny said with a slight wave. Though as soon as he paid attention to the child, Jack slipped on the water immediately. "You're actually on a real date with him?" He asked as he referred to the white haired child.

Mabel rubbed the back of her neck, "He was hard to say no to…" She trailed as she glanced to the floor, "What are you doing here?" She asked with a small friendly smile.

Danny rolled his eyes at the question, "Dinner," he mused as he crossed his arms, "I guess instead of us catching dinner…" He trailed as he glanced at his dad with multiple lobsters attached to him, "Dinner sorta caught us," he stated.

Mabel chuckled, "Is that your dad?" She asked towards the man, "He seems really funny," she said with a smile. "You also saved me from another dating fiasco with-!" She began to say but was interrupted with Vlad and Gideon walking up to the duo.

"Since your evening got ruined due to Jack, I'll pay for another evening," Vlad stated.

"You will?" Gideon asked with a sly smile on his face, "That's much too kind!" He responded as his smile turned into a smirk.

Danny groaned, "Great, Vlad and Vlad Jr. together!" He hissed under his breath, "You just have to say no to him, Mabel, alright?" He asked as Mabel looked unsure of herself, "It's okay to say no."

Vlad placed a hand on the teen's shoulder, sending a sudden electric shock through him. Danny let out a slight flinch with the sudden electricity as he sent up a glare towards the man, "We must be going. You two enjoy your outing!" He yelled with false cheeriness. He forcefully led Danny away from the two children.

"Not only do you ruin _my_ life, but you have to ruin _Mabel's_ too?" Danny asked sarcastically as he tried to pry the older halfa's hand off of him. "You must enjoy it."

"The only one I enjoy to ruin would be _yours_ , Daniel," Vlad stated with a smirk. Danny hadn't expected the honest direct answer and felt shocked. "And it _will_ be ruined, my boy," he said as he whispered into the teen's ear, "Trust me on that."

Danny stared at his parents while Vlad went to help them up. The teen felt like he was going to have a bad time if he didn't get his ghost powers back. And soon.

* * *

The next day came and Danny let out a sigh as he sat up in his bed and glanced at the vacant bed across the room, "Jazz…" He trailed as he stood up and walked over to the triangular shaped window, "Why did this have to happen to me?" He asked as he turned away from the window and glanced at the desk. "Please work!" He mumbled as he opened the desk drawer and pulled out his cell phone. He turned it on and prayed that he had gotten a couple of bars at least. One was all he really needed.

No bars.

No service.

Danny let out a groan of unsatisfaction as he threw the phone on his bed, "I need to get a better cell phone provider…" He trailed as he plopped back onto his bed. He examined the wooden ceiling and rolled his eyes, "What I wouldn't give to be back home…Away from all of this…" He said in a soft voice. "I was supposed to play that new game with Tucker all summer. And web chat with Sam."

The teen sat up on his bed suddenly and raised a hand up to the wall and tried to pinpoint all his anger and frustration towards the palm of his hand. He was frozen that way for a few seconds before he placed his hand back down, "They really are gone," he admitted out loud as his body slumped.

What should he do today?

He was away from his friends, his sister was avoiding him at all costs. He felt alone for the first time in years, and he didn't know who he should turn to.

"You should explore the forest," Jack said as he entered the room.

Danny was slightly shocked at the sudden entrance of his father as he glanced up at him. He blinked in realization that someone had actually entered and that he hadn't thought it up. The teen grinned sheepishly, "Did I accidentally voice that out loud?" He asked.

Jack chuckled as he slapped his son on the back, "I'm your father. I can tell what you're thinking!" He mused as he grinned, "Maybe we can find some ghosts in this old forest!" He said excitedly.

"Uh, what about mom?" Danny asked, wondering why she was separated from him. With him not having his ghost powers, his father was asking to be attacked by Vlad at any minute, "Wouldn't she miss out?" He covered up his worry as he stood up.

"She got invited to that bakery down the street," Jack stated as he shrugged, "Now," he said, getting back onto the topic at hand, "Let's get to that ghost hunting!" He yelled as he started to walk out of the room.

Danny rose an eyebrow, a thought slowly coming to mind, "Did…Did you bring ghost hunting equipment?" He asked, a sliver of hope forming in his mind. With the ghost hunting equipment at their disposal, his father wouldn't be wasted.

Jack chuckled, "Of course not! But we can make do with this!" He yelled as he tossed his son a clear crystal. Danny stared at it in confusion. Sensing the atmosphere, Jack continued, "It's supposed to let you see ghosts that normal humans won't be able to see!" He informed with a grin.

"O…Kay…" Danny trailed, not finding a need for such a thing. After all, in Amity Park you could see the ghosts as clear as day. "I guess let's go," Danny said as he started to exit out of the room. He wasn't too sure about this activity. He couldn't protect his father with Vlad around.

"That's the spirit!" Jack enthused as they made their way down the stairs. They passed Vlad who was making coffee in the kitchen. The older halfa rose an eyebrow, "We'll be gone for five hours, Vladdie! Don't wait up!"

Danny nervously glanced to the side, "Uh – Five hours, dad?" He asked, "That seems a little-

Jack didn't wait for his son to finish as he darted out of the house, eager to start his investigation. Danny could feel Vlad's stare on him, and the young halfa glanced at the man, "I'm surprised he didn't ask _you_ to join us," the teen spat out venomously.

"He did," Vlad admitted with a shrug, "There won't be any ghosts in this forest," he responded as he placed the coffee cup under the maker and let the liquid fill the cup slowly. Danny watched silently. Although the teen agreed with what the man said, there was no way that he would admit that out loud, "Besides, why would I pity Jack when he will soon be taken care of?" He asked as he took the cup and took a drink.

Danny was frozen in shock, "W-What – How-?" He began to stutter incoherently as he shook his head, trying to formulate a clear thought. It wasn't working. Vlad was looking at him with amusement as he rose an eyebrow.

Vlad let out a fake dejected sigh, "All you would have to do is join me, Daniel," the older halfa stated nonchalantly as he shrugged, "Then your father will be saved and…Well…" He trailed as he took another sip from his cup, "Not dead," he finished.

"That isn't fair!" Danny yelled as his eyes widened, "I…" He mumbled as Vlad shook his head at him. "I thought you said it was too early in the game for taking away a player!" He protested, Vlad seemingly ignored him as he was more focused on his coffee cup.

"Enjoy your day with your father, little badger," Vlad said as he placed the cup on the table. The teen looked up with a fear induced expression, "It will most likely be the last," he mused as he started to walk up the stairs, his hands behind his back, a smug smirk on his face.

Danny could only stare at the man before he heard his father running back into the house, "Come on, Danny-O!" He yelled as he ushered the teen to go through the front door. The teen felt numb but nodded stiffly as he followed his father out into the woods.

* * *

To say that Danny was on guard was an understatement. He was more alert than he had ever been before in his life. Everything that moved in the forest he was suddenly ready to punch at. His father took a confused glance back at his son, both eyebrows raised.

"Son, you'll know if there's a ghost with the sphere," Jack commented, unsure about his son's random behavior. "There's no need to seem so tense!" He stated with a grin.

Danny could only stare at his father. He was unaware of the situation he was currently in, "Right…" Danny trailed, though he still hadn't let down his guard, "Dad, you can look through it first," Danny stated as he kept looking around the forest. Vlad had to be around here somewhere.

Jack shrugged, "Alright," he mused as he held the crystal up to his eye and began to look through it, "Wow, there's nothing yet! I'll let you know when I see something!" He mused as he began to run through the forest and away from the teen who was trying to protect him.

"Dad!" He yelled as he outstretched a hand towards the direction he ran towards, "No, no, no!" He yelled as he began to run after him. " _Dad_!" He called out as he cupped his hands over his mouth and looked around the forest as quickly as he could.

"This was easier than I had anticipated," Plasmius said as he entered the area through a thick forest, "Have you reconsidered my offer?" He asked the teen.

Danny looked at Vlad and felt lost, "I…" He trailed as he looked down at the ground, "What exactly happens if I join you?" He asked in a quiet unsure tone.

Plasmius grinned, "Naturally, of course, after this summer you will come to live with me," Plasmius informed with glee, "I will start training you and we will rule the ghost zone together," he stated broadly as Danny looked up at him.

"Vlad, I don't know if I can do that," Danny said as he tried to persuade the man to think about something else, "There has to be something else!" He yelled, almost pleading at this point. Plasmius shook his head with a smirk, "Can you give me more time?"

"No, Daniel," Plasmius said as he started to walk towards the teen, "Will you allow your father to live?" He asked as he stood in front of him. "You're the hero, you make the heroic choice," he stated as he teleported away in a pink smoke.

Danny's heart sunk, "Dad!" He yelled in fear as he started to run again and found a small clearing ahead of him. He ran right through the thick shrubs, getting cut in multiple places in the process, "Where are you?!" He yelled as he entered a circular area. It seemed to be dead silent as the teen walked to a tree in the center of the circular area. It had an eye carved into it, and Danny felt a feeling of dread. He turned around and noticed the sphere where he had entered from. It was gleaming in the sun, but it was on the ground, "That wasn't there before," he stated with anxiety.

The teen knew that his father had the sphere and was concerned about his safety. He picked it up and lifted it up to his eyelevel, "Please let this thing let me find Vlad!" He mumbled desperately. Everything in the woods was dead and the teen brought the orb over to where a yellow light was shining through. He jumped when he saw a lone eye staring back at him. He brought the orb away from his eyes and saw that everything was green and lively. He narrowed his eyes as he brought the orb back up.

The lone eye slowly backed away, but not backed out all the way for the teen to see whose eye it was. It glanced towards the right area of the forest and then disappeared. Danny nodded, "I guess I'll follow his advice," Danny stated as he wasted no time in running towards the direction the lone eye glanced at. "Please, please, please!" He chanted as he ran through the thick shrubs once more, causing his cuts to grow deeper, a red crimson flowing down his exposed arms and legs.

"How did you follow me here, you filthy ghost!" Jack yelled as he dodged an ecto-blast that was fired at him. Danny's breath was hitched in his throat as he finally made it to where his father and Plasmius were. "Danny, stay back!" He yelled as he barely had enough time to dodge another ecto-blast.

"Plasmius, stop!" Danny yelled as he ran to where his father was, ignoring his orders and stood in front of him, "I won't let you waste my _dad_!" He yelled as he narrowed his eyes at the older halfa.

Plasmius merely rolled his eyes and shot at Danny. He expected the teen to move and avoid the attack. He was slightly surprised for the teen to take the hit so it wouldn't hit his father behind him. "Move," Plasmius ordered in a dark tone as he floated up to the teen. Danny shook his head as he held his shoulder, where the attack had hit him. Since his ghost powers were locked away, his super healing didn't work, and blood started to flow down his arm. "Daniel, move," Plasmius ordered more intently.

Danny gripped his shoulder hard and glared up the man, "No!" He yelled in defiance as Plasmius shook his head. Jack tried to move in front of the teen to take the blast, but he tripped over a tree root that was exposed. Danny let out an agonized yell as Plasmius shot his lower leg, making the teen fall to the ground.

"I only hurt you because you make me, dear boy," Plasmius stated grimly as he floated over to Jack, who was standing up from his unplanned fall. "Now…" He trailed dramatically as he powered up another ecto-blast and aimed it at Jack.

"Wait!" Danny yelled through clenched teeth. He was in a lot of pain and knew that if he didn't say this now, his father would die. Plasmius glanced back at the withering teen, "I'll do it," he stated as Plasmius smirked. "I'll-

Dipper let out a yelp as he accidentally walked into the scene, "Danny, are you okay?!" He yelled from half-way across the area. He noticed that the teen was bleeding in his shoulder and lower leg and was bleeding a lot. "Stay _away_ from him!" Dipper ordered in anger at Plasmius.

Plasmius let out a growl, "Butter Balls!" He cursed as he glanced at Dipper. He knew that with a witness, no one would believe that Jack was killed in the forest by himself. He knew that his plan needed to be revised and he needed to put the uncommon factor in his equation. He then glanced at Danny and narrowed his eyes at the teen, "I'm not satisfied with your answer, Daniel," he stated, making Danny narrow his eyes back at the older halfa. "I want you to beg," Plasmius said in a dark tone as he disappeared in a pink smoke.

"Danny, geez, are you okay?" Dipper asked as he ran over to him. Jack also ran over to his son and scooped him up into his arms. "Was…Was that a _ghost_?" Dipper asked as he looked over at Jack. "I've seen a ghost before, and he didn't seem that…" Dipper trailed as he thought back to the murderous look in Plasmius' eyes, " _Evil_ ," he finished.

"All ghosts are evil," Jack said in a dark tone, "The Wisconsin Ghost will not rest until he has hurt me and my entire family," he stated in a serious tone. "You're Danny's friend, aren't you?" He asked as he smiled slightly, making Dipper raise an eyebrow at the sudden change of emotion. The boy nodded his head, "Let's head to the house. Luckily Vlad knows how to do first aid!" Jack beamed with pride as he started to walk through the forest.

Dipper nodded, not wanting to argue with the man who he just met. Danny heard what his father said and groaned in response. Great, not only was Vlad the one who hurt him in the first place, he was also going to bandage him up. The world liked to have a sick sense of irony.

* * *

Dipper and Jack were talking to each other about ghosts in the living room. Mostly it was Jack talking and Dipper taking notes in his notepad that he had brought. Danny and Vlad were in the kitchen, and the older halfa was stitching up the boy.

"You seem to already have scar tissue on this shoulder, little badger," Vlad commented as he strung the thread into the flesh and pulled. It was non-too gently as well, making the teen hiss out in response, "I'm guessing that mark is from a weapon that Skulker uses."

"You would know all about that, wouldn't you?" Danny challenged sarcastically, knowing exactly why Skulker was after him that day, "And to answer your question, no, I _didn't_ change all the toilet paper in City Hall to blue…" He hissed as Vlad pulled the stings together again.

Vlad sighed in mock dejection, "I suppose it must have been someone much more childish than you," he mumbled as he began to work on the leg. Danny knew it was Youngblood playing a prank on Amity Park. The younger halfa just wished that Youngblood knew the consequences that his little 'harmless' prank held on him. "You wouldn't be having to get stitches if you would just _accept_ my offer…" He trailed as he started to thread the needle again.

Danny glared at the man, "The important part is that I didn't _officially_ accept it…" He mumbled as he closed his eyes tightly as the needle penetrated his flesh and started to close it together.

"Your friend Dipper Pines got in the middle of our business," Vlad addressed darkly as he glanced over in the living room and noticed the young boy. Danny opened his eyes and growled back at the man, who now focused his attention on the teen.

"You touch him and I'll _never_ forgive you," Danny threatened as Vlad merely shrugged and pulled the stitches again, making Danny hiss out in pain once again, "Do you _have_ to pull so hard?" He spat out as he glared at the man.

Vlad looked at the teen in mock sympathy, "Did I pull too hard?" He asked as he smirked at the teen, "You're not one to make threats, dear boy," he whispered as he finished up the stitch, "If your friend becomes a problem, I _will_ take care of him."

Danny let out a shaky breath, "He's _not_ involved in this," he said in a low tone.

"He is now, isn't he?" Vlad asked with a half-smirk as he walked out of the kitchen, leaving the teen to be alone with his thoughts.

* * *

"You want me to tell him no, Mabel?" Dipper asked with a raised eyebrow, "I'll do it."

"Thanks, bro bro!" Mabel yelled as she embraced her brother with a grin, "You're the best brother ever!"

Danny let out a small chuckle, "Isn't he the only brother?" He asked as Dipper grinned. "I guess I'll go with you, Dipper," Danny stated as he stood up from where he was sitting. "You know, in case Gideon tries anything on you."

Dipper let out a laugh, "Like what? Use magic?" He asked as Danny let out a smile. "Sure, we can rub it in his pale face of his," he stated as the two of them started to head out the door. As they were walking towards where Mabel was supposed to meet up with Gideon, Dipper suddenly grew silent. "I have a question."

"Okay…?" Danny asked as he stuck his hands in his pants pockets, "Shoot."

"Are ghosts really evil?" Dipper asked as Danny let out a sigh, though it seemed to come out as a borderline groan. "Did I say something wrong?" He asked, based upon Danny's reaction.

The teen shook his head, "You've been talking to my dad, so it's expected," he mused, "I think that you have to know a ghost to really know if he's evil or good," he stated as Dipper nodded for him to continue talking, "Now, Plasmius?" He asked, "The ghost in the woods? He's super bad."

Dipper nodded, "I figured," he admitted, "The look in his eyes…"

"He won't come after you," Danny stated in absolute confidence, "Me and my dad will protect you," he said with a smile. It lifted the boy's spirits and he nodded.

"Well, this is the place…" He trailed as he looked up at the abandoned warehouse.

Danny rose an eyebrow, "Were they really supposed to meet here?" He asked as Dipper shrugged in response, "I think this is a trap."

Dipper nodded in agreement, "I think so too. But Gideon's in there," he said in a serious tone, "Maybe," he added as Danny chuckled. The two started to enter the warehouse and spotted Gideon sitting in an office chair with wheels. He spun around and revealed that he was petting a little doll of himself.

"That's so messed up," Danny commented, not even allowing for Gideon to speak first.

"I have had it up to here with your constant mocking of me!" Gideon yelled as he clutched the amulet around his neck, and suddenly Danny went flying and collided into a pile of boxes.

Dipper narrowed his eyes at the boy in front of him, "Hey!" He yelled, "My sister doesn't want to date you man, leave her alone!" He yelled and then suddenly he was lifted up into the air. His feet were dangling, and the boy's eyes went wide.

Gideon growled as he stood up, "You're in the way of me and my love!" He yelled with a glare, "Maybe you should be cut from the equation!" He yelled as a large pair of sheers were suddenly levitated into the air and began to move in the cutting movement.

"That was a bad pun!" Danny yelled as he bulldozed right into the white haired boy, making him lose his hold on Dipper and the sheers. "It wasn't sheer genius at all. Don't quit your day job," Danny said as he slammed the boy into the wall. The teen then grabbed hold of the amulet and tossed it on the ground, rendering the boy useless. Although he tossed it away from the boy, he didn't shatter it. "Come on, Dipper, let's get out of here."

"S-Sure!" Dipper yelled as he scrambled to his feet, slightly disoriented from falling from such a height. Danny was ahead of him, his stitches had been reopened, and blood was seeping through his shirt, as well as down his leg.

Gideon let out a growl and rose his amulet to the air from the ground, "You're not going anywhere!" He yelled as a blue light surrounded Danny and Dipper. They didn't expect a sudden attack from the boy and were sent flying to the air.

Danny struggled to move in the air, "Dipper, get behind me," he ordered as Dipper tried to control his movements in the air and did as he was told. "Even if I'm bruised and beaten I won't let Gideon put a hand on you," he said protectively.

"Danny, you're going to get seriously hurt if you do that!" Dipper yelled as Danny shrugged it off, "Besides, I'm not a coward, I can fight for myself."

"Isn't that sweet?" Gideon asked sarcastically as he walked over to where the two were floating in the air, "How about you take a plunge and still have that confidence, hmm?" He asked as he thrusted the amulet towards the warehouse window.

The two of them went flying out the broken window and started to plummet down a cliff. Dipper started to scream and Danny was trying to will his ghost powers to the surface. He felt them very briefly, he thought it was most likely his obsession still sticking around. Since he had protected Dipper in the warehouse, his obsession had been fueled. "Dipper?" He asked as Dipper was screaming and clawing at the air in a desperate attempt to stop himself, "Dipper!"

" _What_?!" Dipper responded with wide eyes. At seeing how calm and collected Danny was, Dipper started to calm down slightly, "What?" He asked again at a normal volume.

"I _need_ to know if you're going to accept me if I show you something," Danny stated in an unsure tone. He wasn't sure if he would completely shatter if someone else rejected him that he cared about. He thought of Dipper like a little brother, and wasn't sure if he could handle if he didn't accept him.

Dipper stared at him and blinked, "Unless you're going to show me your Spell card collection, I won't judge," he stated as he wasn't even concerned with falling to his death anymore. He found it odd that Danny could make him feel that way; he felt protection from the teen.

Danny nodded as he closed his eyes and willed his ghost powers to the surface. It burned his skin and his core to bring in to the surface. It felt agonizing and he held down a scream that was about to escape his throat. But, if he didn't do this, then he, along with Dipper, would certainly die. "Here! We! Go!" He yelled as he placed his arms over his head, "I'm going ghost!"

Dipper could only watch as the transformation happened swiftly, yet, it seemed as if Danny was in pain. Once Danny was in his ghost form, it seemed as if the pain disappeared. There, floating to his death, was the ghost that he had seen when they were running form the gnomes. The one that was feeling depressed in the forest. Right in front of him, "You're a _ghost_!" He yelled.

"Actually, I'm only half," Danny corrected as he smiled gently at him.

"Dude…A ghost…Half ghost…In front of me," Dipper said in broken English as he grinned. The suspense was slowly killing Danny. Did Dipper accept him for what and who he was? "This is so _cool_!" He yelled as he brought out his notepad from earlier and clicked a pen from his pocket, "I have _so_ many questions!"

Danny let out a smile, knowing he had been accepted by his friend, "But first, let's not fall to your deaths, agreed?" He asked as he grabbed hold of the boy's sweater and lowered him slowly to the ground. Once he was on the ground, Danny was exhausted with the minimal use of his ghost form. He reverted back to his human half and collapsed on the ground. He looked at his leg and was overly ecstatic to see it healing with his super healing.

Dipper smiled sadly at seeing how exhausted his friend was, "I guess my questions will wait for tomorrow. Come to the Mystery Shack around two pm?" He asked with a pleading tone.

"Sure, I'll be there," Danny said with a smirk.

"Whoa! Are you two okay!?" Mabel yelled from above them. The two looked up and saw Mabel floating down to them with the blue amulet in her hands. She landed on the ground softly with a smile, "I'll take that as a yes!"

Dipper's eyes widened, "He didn't hurt you, did he?" He asked as he ran over to Mabel to examine her for any injuries from Gideon.

She shook her head, "No, but I hurt him!" She said slyly as she glanced to her left, exactly where a recovering Danny was, with reopened stitches. "Danny! Are you alright!" She yelled as she ran over to him.

"Sure, don't ask if _I'm_ alright," Dipper mumbled as he rolled his eyes.

"Peachy," Danny stated as he chuckled, "I think we should smash that thing before he can use it again," Danny stated as he pointed up to the amulet still in Mabel's hand.

Dipper nodded, "Smash it, smash it!" He chanted as Mabel smirked and did as she was told.

"Touchdown!" Mabel yelled as she tossed it on the ground harshly. The shards scattered on the ground of the forest where the moonlight casted a haunting gaze on them.

 **To be continued…**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: It's been a good few days, huh? Or weeks. Or like, a month, but I'm not really counting. You guys, this is the longest chapter so far, and it's only the next two episodes. It's pretty sick. I didn't really know what to do with the whole 'Dipper Vs. Manliness' thing, so I put it kind of sorta short. I don't know if you guys even knew that was Bill in the last chapter when Danny was looking through the seeing stone thing, but no one mentioned it. That must mean I'm doing something right/wrong, I don't know which.**

 **You guys wanted it, and so here it is! I mean what's in the chapter, not the update itself. But hey, I guess the update too if you want to see it like that. This is a no spoiler section, and so no spoils will be given.**

 **I can just say that I really like picking on Danny.**

 **That's the only hint you'll get.**

 **Seriously.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Danny Phantom or Gravity Falls.**

* * *

That morning seemed to be brighter than usual. The teen stretched as he woke up and opened his eyes slowly. He looked to the right of his bed and looked to see if his sister was there. To his surprise, she was. He blinked slowly and sat up, "Jazz?" He asked groggily from his sleepy stupor. "You're here?" He asked again, drawing the teen girl from her book. He wanted to know if he was still dreaming. After all, the last time he had encountered his sister, she wasn't too keen on staying around him.

She glanced over at her brother and smiled, "Danny," she addressed as she stared into his confused eyes and her smile fell, "About yesterday…" She trailed as she placed the book down, "I didn't mean those things I said," she admitted as she let out a sigh, "I was just…" She mumbled as she shook her head, "Jumbled up with my emotions."

"Well, it's happened before," Danny stated with a shrug as he pulled his comforter off of him. Jazz looked at him and narrowed her eyes at the younger half ghost. She knew that Danny didn't understand that what she had done wasn't okay.

"It shouldn't!" Jazz yelled, clutching the book in her hands tightly, making her knuckles white, "I was being weak…" She whispered, looking down at her book. She stared at the letters, but didn't take it in. She was too caught up in her thoughts to read at the moment. She decided that the book would be easier to look at than her own brother. How easily he had accepted her when she knew she wasn't worth it. The guilt was practically eating her alive, and she couldn't keep it in anymore. She needed to tell her brother what had happened, no matter what happened. "I let Vlad…" She mouthed, but didn't say.

Danny let out a sigh, "You didn't mean what you said, I know you didn't," he mused as he stood up and walked over to her bedside, "I know you have your reasons for doing things, Jazz, you aren't stupid," he complimented with a sincere smile.

Jazz looked up at him with wide eyes, "Vlad is planning something, and I don't know what it exactly is," she stated, making the teen nod in understanding, "He wanted you to be completely alone," she admitted in a soft tone.

"And he threatened you," Danny added with a stern tone, trying to figure out her actions. He had an idea, but it was never confirmed. He thought that the older halfa had threatened his sister, and she complied with his demands to protect the family.

"Yeah," Jazz nodded as she clutched her upper arm for comfort, "I couldn't _stand_ it, Danny…" She mumbled, "The hurt in your eyes when I tried to keep you away from me," she said, looking up at her brother once again, "I couldn't keep hurting you like that. I'm your sister, I'm supposed to _protect_ you," she stated in a broken-like tone.

Danny placed a hand on her shoulder, "I'm the hero here, Jazz, I thought that was _my_ job?" He asked sarcastically with a teasing grin.

Jazz placed her hand on her brother's and smiled sadly, "He really did threaten me, Danny…" She whispered, clutching his hand tightly for protection, "I've never seen him look so…" She trailed as she let a few tears roll down her cheeks in fear, " _Evil_ ," she hissed out, as if it was caught in her throat. "He was in my face, his hands digging into my arms…" She shook her head, "He said if I tried to tell you what happened, he would know. He said to stay away from you or I'd be putting my dad's life at risk…" She vented out, on the verge of having an outburst.

"Whoa, wait…" Danny trailed as he kneeled down so he would be on her eyelevel, "What happened? The threat?" He questioned. Jazz shook her head and Danny's eyebrows furrowed in confusion, "What happened, Jazz?" He pressured.

"He overshadowed you," She whispered into his ear so softly that Danny barely caught it. His eyes grew wide as he pulled away, as if the girl's words were weapons. He stared into her eyes and then blinked.

Rage suddenly overcame the teen as he stood up with a glare, "I didn't even know you could _do_ that!" He yelled, about to storm out of the room to knock some sense into the older half ghost, "That – That's just-!" He began to yell, but was pulled back by his sister's hand. He looked back at his sister in confusion at why she had stopped him.

"He can't know that I told you," Jazz pleaded, "Please, you have to keep it a secret," she said, her voice almost cracking, "I know you're the hero, and you'll do what you can," she nodded, letting go of her hand and settled it in front of her. She stared blankly at the book once again; lost in her thoughts. Danny looked at her and started to walk over to her.

"Do you want me to stay with you?" Danny asked, unsure if he should leave his emotionally unstable sister by herself. She shook her head firmly, not wanting to push her voice. She thought that she would crack under the pressure she was currently in. "Okay, I'll pretend this talk never happened," he said sternly, turning around and closing his eyes.

Jazz gasped, "No!" She yelled, tears rolling down her face, "I can't go back to ignoring you, I just _can't_ , Danny!" She yelled, "That's hurting you! That's _rejecting_ you!" She yelled, about to run up to her brother.

Danny's eyes opened up, widening in recognition, "So, _that's_ his game," he said with scorn as he shook his head, "Jazz, I'm the hero, remember?" He asked. Jazz stopped trying to get to her brother as she only stared up at him, "Trust me," he said, not trusting his own strong façade to turn and look his sister in the eyes. He opened the door and took a step out, closing it behind him. He leaned against it and let out a sigh, he heard Jazz's sobs from beyond the door.

"I trust you," Jazz whispered. Danny felt his heart tighten at her response and felt like he wanted to break down himself. He let out a breath and stood up from the door and started to walk down the hallway.

"What am I going to do by myself? I've always had Jazz, Sam, or Tuck help me out!" Danny hissed out as he scratched his head in frustration. "I'm completely alone here!" He yelled in a hushed whisper, making his way to the steps, "But that's exactly how Vlad wants me," he realized in a low tone, piecing the pieces the older halfa left behind.

As he made his way down the steps, he began to think on his next course of action. How was he going to protect his family from this madman? He glanced at the time and noticed it was one thirty. "I have to go see Dipper…" He trailed, remembering his appointment set up from the previous night, "Dipper!" He yelled with a grin, "He's an unaccounted variable in the equation that Vlad didn't account for!" He thought out loud. He frowned, "Well, Lancer would be proud of my extensive vocabulary," he mumbled, turning himself intangible, happy that his ghost powers were back, and made his way to the Mystery Shack.

* * *

"So you were turned into a hybrid when you walked into the portal?" Dipper questioned, making small notes into his notepad. He grinned as he looked over at his friend, expecting the answer. Finding information about the supernatural and/or paranormal was a real treat to the boy. He liked to peel things apart and finding out how they worked. Danny was an excellent example of this. That, and he really found it cool how he was practically a super hero. He was a little envious about that, but pushed the thought to the back of his head.

"Yeah," Danny answered sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck. He thought he would get used to talking about his experience, but every time he remembered it, he would still feel the intense shock of lightning. The sudden color of purple and green flooding his vision. The ecto-plasm merging with his DNA forcefully. "My dad installed the 'on' switch on the inside."

Dipper rose an eyebrow, "Really?" He asked as he started to write down the testimony in the notepad, "Okay, we have the origins of 'Phantom'," he said with a grin. Danny let out a sigh of relief, "Now onto the ghost powers section!" He mused in excitement, turning a page in his notepad as well as clicking his pen excessively. He couldn't contain his excitement and clicking his pen was the best way to relieve so of the energy that had built inside of him.

Danny leaned back in his seat and crossed his arms, "Flying, intangibility, becoming invisible, ecto-blasts, ecto-shields-

"Whoa, wait!" Dipper yelled out as he stuck his tongue out in concentration, writing what Danny was saying to the best of his capabilities and as quickly as possible, "Ecto-blasts, and what else?" He asked as he looked up at him.

"Ecto-shields, overshadowing, ghostly wail, ice powers, and enhanced physical capabilities," Danny finished as he rolled his eyes, "Are we done now?" He asked, a little impatient that they were still talking about him.

Dipper nodded as he finished his notes, "I just have a little question," he asked, making Danny look up, "How do you stop a ghost?" He asked, Danny bit his lower lip, and Dipper could read what the teen was thinking, "I wouldn't try to stop you, Danny!" He yelled in a defensive manner, "I just…That ghost in the forest seemed strong."

Danny glanced at the boy in front of him with a smile, "You won't need to handle him, I have it completely under control," he stated in a calm manner, trying to put the boy to ease. His response had the opposite effect.

"Did you have it under control when you were in the forest?" Dipper asked suddenly, making Danny's smile immediately fade from his face. "You got an ecto-blast through the shoulder and the leg…" Dipper stated in a lighter tone, remembering the incident. Remembering the exact look that was on his friend's face; how pained he was, both mentally and physically. Danny looked down, knowing that he didn't have what it took to defeat Plasmius on his own. How could he when the older half ghost used dirty tricks and blackmail to render his powerless?

"You bring up a good point, Dipper," Danny said as he stood up from his chair, "But my powers weren't working then," he said as he held out his hand, "Something about an obsession…" Danny mumbled as he shook his head, "But my powers are working now!" He mused with a grin as he tried to form an ecto-blast, but found that he couldn't.

Dipper looked at the teen's empty hand and rose his eyebrows, "Is – Is that supposed to be a joke?" He asked, unsure whether to laugh or be slightly concerned for his super powered friend.

Danny's smile faded, "What? It's supposed to work!" He yelled as he shook out his hand and tried to concentrate on making an ecto-blast again. He held it out in the air for a few more seconds, still trying to form his power. Dipper looked on at how hard his friend was concentrating and shook his head.

"So, it isn't a joke…" Dipper trailed as he stood up from his chair, "Didn't you fly over here?" He asked, trying to help his friend decipher the mystery on why his powers were malfunctioning.

"Yeah, so why isn't it working?" He asked himself angrily, "I just used my powers a half hour ago!" He complained as he placed his hand back down. "Okay, Dipper, you have a point," he said in defeat. Dipper let out a smile at being right about something, "We need a contingency plan for if I fail," he stated, eyeing the boy in front of him, "Do you think you can help me out?" He asked in a small grin.

Dipper nodded his head and let out a small squeak, "O-OF course I'll help out a super hero!" He yelled as he couldn't contain his excitement. He started jumping up and down subconsciously, and Danny rose his eyebrows. Dipper cleared his throat and shook out his feet, "Stay cool!" He coughed under his breath, containing his emotions in a few seconds, "So, what should our plan be?" He asked, getting straight to the point.

Danny ran a hand through his hair, "My parents have ghost hunting equipment blueprints, but they didn't bring them with…" He trailed as Dipper was looking at him in confusion, "They battle ghosts and one of their equipment can contain a ghost. It's called the Fenton Thermos."

"Because they fight alongside you, right?" Dipper asked, not noticing how Danny grew tense at the question, "Because you're a super hero?" He asked, nodding.

"Er, something like that," Danny struggled to get out, "Anyway, the thermos traps a ghost, and if we can get that, we can trap Plasmius in there," he strategized, "That way he won't hurt anyone," he concluded with his battle plan.

Dipper nodded in agreement with the plan, "Out of curiosity, where is this thermos?" He asked, making Danny let out a sigh, "Back at your town, isn't it?" He asked dryly. Danny nodded in response as his form slumped, "What do we do now?" He asked.

Danny shrugged, "I don't know…" He trailed as he shook his head, "But if things keep going this way, then I might not…" He choked on the words, trying to calm down himself, "Plasmius wants me to join him, and he wants me to submit to him by hurting my family," he stated in a low tone.

"What?" Dipper asked, "That's crazy! How are we going to stop him?!" He practically screamed.

"We can't," Danny responded in a grave manner, "But if I do 'go dark-side'," Danny said as he shook his head, "You have to promise to stop me, Dipper," he stated, looking directly into Dipper's eyes.

The boy took a step back and placed his hands in front of him, "I-I can't do that, Danny, you're my friend!" He argued.

Danny let out a frustrated groan, "If I start attacking you because Plasmius orders me to, what will you do then?" He asked, making Dipper freeze up, "You need to take me out, Dipper, and I know just how you can do that," he said as he placed his hand out towards the teen, "Let me see your notebook," he ordered lightly.

"Okay…" Dipper said in an unsure manner, but did as the younger half ghost asked of him, "What are you-?" He began to ask as Danny had started to write down a few things. He gave the boy the notebook not saying a word. Dipper glanced at the notebook and let out a gasp, "Danny! I'm not going to do that!" He yelled, "There's no way that I could do this…" He trailed darkly, his head down.

"You have to promise me, Dipper," Danny repeated, making the boy look up at him, "I can't stop Plasmius on my own, but I need to know that I'm not alone," he said as he looked in his eyes once again. "I don't have my friends to back me up, and I don't have my sister either."

Dipper simply nodded, "I promise that I'll be your failsafe," he stated with slight regret, "You can depend on me."

Danny smiled at him, "Thanks, Dipper, I knew I could count on you," he stated.

"Hey, Dipper!" A girl's voice called as she ran outside on the front porch, "I've decided that I'm going on break, you want to come mess up the town with us?"

"Wendy!" Dipper yelled, immediately brought out of the dire situation he was suddenly put into. He looked up and quickly put his notebook away. A red haired teenager appeared as she walked from the gift shop to the main house entrance. She had a smile on her face, "Us?" Dipper asked as Wendy pointed to the vehicle making its way through the trees.

"Also, Mabel wanted to come with," she said as Mabel appeared behind her with a grin. She wagged her arms in the air, letting the ends of her sweater dangle as she held her hand up.

Mabel noticed Danny and waved excitedly over at him, "Danny!" She yelled with a slight blush, running over to him and embracing him in a hug, "I didn't know you were here!" She yelled with a grin, looking up at him.

Danny chuckled nervously, "Just got here, Mabel," he stated as Mabel pulled away from him, "I'll let you guys have fun on your way to town," he said as he started to walk away.

"Danny! You have to come with us!" Mabel yelled in protest, flinging her arms up and down, "I like it when you're around us!" She argued with a pout, she looked over at Wendy, "Can Danny come with us? Please! Pretty please!" She pleaded.

"Uhh," Wendy said as she darted her eyes at the teen boy and then over at the car filled with teens, "Sure, get over here, man!" She yelled as Danny glanced over at them.

He looked over at Dipper, who ushered him to come back over to the shack which was unnoticeable to the group, "Okay, but only for a little bit," he answered, walking back over to the shack with a small grin. Mabel cheered and started muttering things about a summer romance blossoming. "I'm Danny," he introduced to Wendy.

The red headed teen nodded, "Wendy," she responded back, "Now, let's get going you losers! We're wasting daylight!" She yelled as she started to run to the car.

* * *

"When I said little bit…" Danny trailed as they approached a chain link fence, "I did not mean all day," he muttered under his breath. He eyed the 'all trespassers will be dead' sign and rose an eyebrow. He found that it was odd that a sign would be there, but decided that it must have been the local teenagers messing with the public.

"Thanks for coming, man," Dipper said from beside him, "I feel more comfortable with you around. Helps me fit in, you know?" He asked with a sheepish grin.

Danny rolled his eyes at the boy's logic, "Do you guys really have nothing else to do than go to an abandoned convenience store at night?" He asked rhetorically.

Wendy placed a sturdy hand on his shoulder with a grin, "Pretty much," she answered with a smile, "I take it you're not from around Gravity Falls?" She asked, making slight conversation.

"No, Amity Park," Danny answered, "But if it's one thing both places have in common, it's weird names," he teased, making Wendy start to chuckle.

"You're a riot, Danny!" Wendy stated as she placed her hand off of him, "Why haven't I met you before?" She asked before diverting her attention to the fence in front of her.

Dipper started to growl from beside Danny, and he glanced over, "I'm not into her, you know," Danny stated, knowing that the boy was getting jealous.

The boy crossed his arms, "What – I didn't – You can do what you want!" He yelled as he looked away from the teen. Danny rolled his eyes in response and walked over to the fence, grabbing onto it with a sturdy hand.

"I kind of like someone already, Dipper," Danny said with a small smile. Dipper looked over at his friend with a small smile as well, "She has these beautiful eyes and…" He started to describe her but then shook his head, "You know what? Let's just go," he concluded.

"Right behind you, Danny!" Dipper said as he started to climb. Danny had reached the top of the fence and placed his legs over so they were dangling. Dipper was beside him and just sat at the top, "I can do this," he mumbled under his breath.

Danny rose an eyebrow, "If you need help-

Dipper glared at him, "I'm not a kid, I don't need help!" He snapped at his friend. Danny frowned before jumping off of the fence and landing on his feet. "Show off," Dipper mumbled as he tried to place his footing back into the fence. He knew he couldn't jump like Danny could, he didn't have any powers.

"Come on! Your _sister_ did it!" Came one teen from below.

"Just – Just a second!" Dipper yelled, trying to overcome his fear. He was scared of jumping from high places, sue him. "Um…The wire is just a little slippery!" He came up with a reasonable excuse.

Robbie, one of the teenagers, rolled his eyes, "Let's just leave the kid, already," he mumbled, placing his hands in his pockets. He started to walk to the store, the teenagers following him. Mabel and Danny looked up at Dipper.

Dipper was really struggling and Danny knew it was a bad idea to leave him up there, "I'll go up there," Danny told to Mabel, who nodded in response.

"I'm fine! Look, I got my foot in the hole!" Dipper yelled as Danny started to climb back up the fence. Dipper felt confident enough to place his other foot in the hold. When he was about to climb down, he noticed that there was a silhouette of a red eyed man staring back at him. Dipper's eyes widened and then felt himself being pushed back. He didn't have time to be shocked or scared, he just felt frozen.

"Dipper!" Danny yelled as he watched his friend's falling form. He couldn't jump off the fence in time to catch him, and looked down below in hopes that he would land on his feet.

Mabel grinned, "I got you, bro bro!" She yelled, outstretching her arms. Dipper fell into her open arms, bringing the both of them colliding to the ground. Danny jumped off the fence immediately and ran over to where they were.

"Are you guys okay?" He asked in a concerned tone.

"Great," Dipper groaned out in a pained breath from the fall, bringing himself up to his feet. Mabel stood up with a grin, patting off the excess dirt and dust from her outfit, "I think something pushed me."

Mabel chuckled, "Or you just fell," she reasoned with a shrug, "Because you're so lame!" She yelled in a teasing manner. Dipper, however, didn't find the predicament in the least bit funny.

Dipper growled, "I'm serious, Mabel!" He argued and then he shook his head, putting the matter behind him, "Let's just go catch up to the rest of them," he said, hurrying his pace so he wouldn't be running, but not be normally walking. Mabel glanced at Danny, who was staring up at the fence.

"You coming?" Mabel asked with a small smile. She then let out a chuckle, "Trying to find Dip's coolness up there?" She joked again, liking that she was more athletic than her brother.

"Yeah," Danny answered, ignoring second part to the girl's question and drew his attention away from the fence, "I guess Dipper _did_ just slip," he reasoned as they started to walk over to the group. After all, the younger half ghost didn't see or feel anything.

Robbie started to pull on the closed doors and narrowed his eyes at them, "Yeah, this thing isn't budging," he reasoned with a huff. He noticed Wendy's frown, along with the bored expressions of the teenagers before him. He stepped out of the way and was about to recommend they bust into something else, when Dipper walked forward.

The boy rotated his arm with a smile, "Hey, let me try to get it open," he suggested, making Robbie glared at the boy as he crossed his arms.

"Sure, _I_ can't do it, but I'm sure a boy _half_ the size of me can get it open," Robbie scoffed, rolling his eyes at the absurd notion that a twelve year old boy could open it up. "Be my guest," he offered in an uninterested tone, moving out of the way so the boy could try to open it.

"Maybe it's just the tactic you were using," Danny said, making the attention go to him. Dipper was looking unsure of himself and started to lose confidence in himself, "He's smarter than you give him credit for," he said with a shrug.

Robbie glared at him and took a step towards him in a challenging manner, "Yeah, a twelve year old being smarter than me!" He snorted as he fisted his hands in rage at the accusation, "Like that'll happen…" He trailed, eyeing the young half ghost in front of him.

Danny chuckled, "Seems to be like it already _has_ …" Danny mumbled under his breath, yet loud enough for the teen in front of him to deliberately hear it, "Did I voice that out loud?" Danny asked rhetorically with a smirk, making Robbie growl in frustration and taking a step over to the young halfa.

"Robbie, lay off!" Wendy accosted as she pushed him back, away from Danny, "Seriously, you're acting like a jerk!" She yelled, glaring at the teen in front of her. Robbie scowled and looked away.

"Whatever…" He mumbled, trying to act like it didn't bother him to be beaten by another teen, "Where is the kid, anyway?" He asked, making the rest of the teenagers look around the area for Dipper.

Wendy furrowed her eyebrows in confusion, "Dipper?!" She yelled, cupping her hands around her mouth, "Where you at, little dude?" She called out again. A glass door creaked open, alerting everyone to the front entrance of the door. An old bell at the top of the store rang out, "No way, man, how did you get it open?" Wendy asked in excitement.

Dipper let out a genuine smile, holding the door proudly open, "I used my brain," he said, the teenagers passing by him, each eager to explore the store in front of them that seemed to be lost to history. "After you," he said to Robbie when he started to go through it.

"Whatever, man!" Robbie complained under his breath before entering the store with his held down in defeat. Dipper watched him enter and couldn't help but feel some pride at outwitting him and finding a solution to the problem. Mabel knew that she couldn't have gotten that door open the same way that her brother had, but she pushed it to the side.

"See?" Danny asked as he walked into the store with Mabel beside him, "I spoke nothing but the truth," he stated with a grin.

Dipper nodded proudly before he slowly closed the door, "Thanks for sticking up for me back there," he whispered with a small smile, "And for winning over Robbie."

Danny waved off the thanks, "You're the one that proved yourself, Dipper," he said.

"You're the coolest brother!" Mabel complimented, decided that she should give credit where credit was do. She then grabbed Danny's hand and led him into the store, "I wonder if they still have that candy…" She mumbled as she looked over at Danny with a grin, "You gotta try some of this candy if we can find it!"

"Wouldn't it be a little over expired?" Danny asked in a weak voice, trying not to think about potentially eating expired candy. As soon as the glass door closed, Danny's ghost sense went off. He perked his head up and looked around the area, it was as if they had entered another dimension of sorts. "I don't think we should be here," he said, trying to find the rest of the teenagers. After all, how could he protect them all if they were scattered about the store? He started to pull away from Mabel, but the young girl pulled him back a little possessively.

The young half ghost looked over at the girl with a confused expression, and Mabel let out a laugh, "It's not as if the store said it was closed!" She reasoned, "The sign still said 'open'!" She argued with a grin. "We can so totally be here!" She added, not wanting the teen to leave her. The lights had turned on, making Danny become fully alert now as he quickly scanned the area. There wasn't a sign of ghost activity yet, but he had to be on the lookout. He also need to protect the people in the store, should anything happen out of the ordinary. Danny knew, at this point of his stay in Gravity Falls, that the unordinary was usually the ordinary. Good thing for him that his ordinary was ghosts, and that's why he was prepared to deal with it.

Danny nodded, deciding to agree with the girl so she would drop the matter. After all, they were already inside, and he knew he would be able to convince his company that they should leave, especially when they had all just arrived at the location. He tightened his hold on Mabel's hand, "Just stay close to me, alright?" He asked, completely oblivious to the blush that was the girl's face. He was unaware of her blossoming feelings towards him and instead was more concerned about the potential ghost attack.

"I will never let go," Mabel whispered with large eyes and in a dreamy-like tone.

* * *

"You should really watch how many of those you eat, Mabel," Danny advised in a passive manner, watching the intake of the expired candy that the girl was eating.

"I've only had five!" Mabel responded in a drunken slur, "You can't tell me when I've had enough!" She yelled, spit flying out of her mouth making Danny rose an eyebrow in response, "What are you? A ninny?" She asked as she started to chuckle at her own joke.

Danny slowly glanced away to assess where the other teenagers were, "Dipper!" He yelled when he spotted the kid dropping a bag of ice, "Are you okay?" He asked, standing up from his spot next to Mabel and walking over to his friend.

Dipper looked shaken up as he calmed his shaking hands, "What? I didn't see a ghost!" He yelled, making Danny's eyes narrow in response.

"I didn't ask if you've seen a ghost…" Danny trailed and paused for a moment, "Did you see a ghost?"

"I miiight have seen a ghost," Dipper stated slowly, "We should probably get out of here," he advised, running to where the rest of the teenagers were. Danny nodded and started to walk over to where Mabel was.

As he approached the girl, she was in a coma-like state with candy surging out of her mouth, "Mabel!" He yelled, leaning down and shaking her shoulders, "Mabel, are you okay?" He asked in a quiet tone.

She twitched her body and chuckled, "Ynnad, er'uoy ytterp htiw eithw riah!" She mused before she started to stare into space with her tongue hanging out. Danny didn't understand what she had said to him, and peered into her overly-dilated eyes in attempt to understand.

"What…?" Danny started to ask, but was then alerted to a maniacal laughing at the front of the store. He examined Mabel and found that she now had a smile on her face, as if she were day-dreaming. The young halfa had concerns about leaving her there, but knew that he was needed for the inescapable ghost attack that was about to happen. He quickly stood up and ran to where the commotion was coming from. He noticed that Dipper had decided to lay in the outline of where somebody had died. The young halfa wanted to face palm at that moment, this kid would be the death of him. "Everyone, scatter!" He ordered, making every teenager run to a different corner of the abandoned convenience store.

"Danny!" Dipper yelled as he ran into an aisle, narrowly being blasted by a rage filled ghost. He skidded next to Danny, who was trying to focus on an ecto-blast. "Your powers _still_ aren't working?" He asked in alarm, his heartbeat slowing down steadily in fear.

Danny let out a growl before shaking out his hand in rage, " _No_ ," he hissed out, "Got any plans?" He asked, Dipper pulling out his journal in the process. The convenience store items were being tossed about, and Danny edged closer to the aisle he was hiding against to avoid getting hit in the face with a bag of chips.

"There's a section on ghosts, but I don't know what it means!" He yelled, trying to rearrange the lettering on the page for it to form sentences. "It's written in some kind of code or something!" He yelled, feeling the pressure that was on him.

"Can you decipher it?" Danny asked, shielding the boy next to him from a wild cereal box being thrown with his own body. It had hurt since it was being thrown at a fast velocity, but he knew that it was better that he had taken the hit than the boy sitting next to him.

Dipper pushed a hand through his hair, the stress taking a small toll on him, "I-It's going to take some time, can you stall them?" He asked, taking out a pen and making his way through the inner puzzle that was in the journal, "They're ghosts, they'll know you, right?"

Danny let out a nervous chuckle, "I'm not really that well-liked by most ghosts…" He admitted, making Dipper's eyes grow wide in disbelief and hopelessness, "Calm down!" Danny said as he slowly stood up, "I'll see what I can do," he said in a strong resolve.

"You'll all die here!" Yelled the husband ghost as he summoned a torrent of wind around himself, "All of you blasted teenagers!" He promised with a booming chuckle. The wife didn't say anything, but proceeded to throw objects around the store.

"Hey!" Danny yelled, running over to the front of the store.

Robbie looked at Wendy with wide eyes, "What the hell is he doing?!" He yelled, making Wendy shrug her shoulders in response, "He's your friend!" He yelled over the wind, and Wendy stopped looking at the teen next to her and looked at the young halfa that was approaching imminent death. She rose an eyebrow at this and thought that the teen was brave.

Danny now had the two ghosts attention, the wife and the husband both staring at him, "Uh, hey there!" He greeted awkwardly. He was trying to come off as peaceful, but he knew his reputation in the ghost zone was either hit or miss with the natives. "You two look great tonight!" He complimented, running out of ways to stall. He inwardly cringed at that statement, even to him it sounded lame.

"You!" The husband yelled, getting into the face of the young half ghost, "I _know_ you," he stated, the wind dying down significantly. The teens all started to edge closer to the front of the store, trying to get a peek at what was going down. "The ghost that defeated Pariah Dark!"

"I don't know, he's still a teenager…" The wife remarked, making the husband looked over at her, "But he did save the entire afterlife from that accursed man!" She lectured, shaking her head.

Danny looked uneasily at the husband and then the wife. He knew he was an open target out in the open, and with no ghost powers, he couldn't defend himself, "Right! Uh, well, I have a small favor to ask!" He yelled, gaining the duo's attention. "Do you think you could open those doors for me?" He asked, gesturing towards the entrance with his thumb, "It would really help me out," he admitted with a small smile.

The husband chuckled, reverting to his human form, "You seem like a nice lad," he remarked, snapping his fingers, making the door open. Danny felt relief flow through him, "How could I say no to the Ghost Zone's savior?" He asked as he shook his head.

"Let's get out of here!" Yelled Robbie as he started to run towards the exit, only for the husband to turn into his ghostly form once more, the wind picking up immediately.

"You will not leave, human!" The husband yelled, his hand glowing a vibrant blue and targeted the teen that was running towards the exit.

Danny let out a growl, " _Seriously_!" He yelled sarcastically under his breath, "Dipper, you better figure this out!" He yelled over the wind so that the boy would hear him. With a strong resolve, he jumped into the line of fire of the ghost and got transported into another place.

* * *

"Okay… _That_ didn't feel like any ghost attack I've _ever_ felt," Danny mused, looking over at the vast empty darkness that he was trapped in, "Hello?" He asked as he stood up slowly. He felt a poke on his shoulder and he looked over to where he thought it was coming from.

Nothing.

"Hello?" He asked again, frustration coming to him. He felt another poke on his other shoulder, making him turn around again to see who was touching him.

Nothing.

A chuckling echoed around the area. Danny was immediately put on edge from the laugh and narrowed his eyes through the darkness, "Where are you?" He demanded, placing his hand out and an ecto-blast came to him. "Sure, now you work," the teen grumbled under his breath. The ecto-blast was enough to light up the area, but it was still shrouded in a thick, heavy darkness.

" **Well** , **well** , **well** , **look who got sent to the dreamscape**!" Yelled a male's voice that seemed to have a slight echo to it. The teen tried to pinpoint to where it was coming from, but found that the vast darkness was limitless. " **A one way ticket**?!" He asked, more to himself than Danny.

"Why don't you show yourself!" Danny yelled in a teasing manner, "Talking to the darkness isn't as fun to me as it is to you," he retorted.

The voice simply chuckled, " **Maybe I'll wait a year before showing myself to you**!" He yelled, " **Keep you in the dark**!" He yelled, making a pun before he cackled from his own joke. The young halfa knew that the thing that was talking to him wasn't going to make things easy. He growled and lifted his hand to where he thought the voice was coming from.

Danny fired a few ecto-blasts, trying to attack the being around him, "You're about as funny as a toaster!" He insulted with a roll of his eyes. "What is the dreamscape, anyways?" Danny asked with a glare. "A place where you go when you dream?"

" **For a kid** , **I've got to hand it to you** ," He said, a golden hand appeared in the vast emptiness. Strange enough, it had a brilliant golden light to it, and Danny thought that it was a little odd that it could give off such a light when his ecto-blast could barely light up the area around him. Yet, the hand was a few feet away, and lit up a small area. Danny couldn't help but think that the thing that was talking to him was in control of wherever he had ended up in. " **You're catching on quick**!" He mused. " **What should I call you** , **Phantom or Fenton**?! **Hah**!" He asked as he started to chuckle again.

"Who are you?" Danny demanded, wondering who knew that much about him aside from the obvious choices, "How do you know me?"

The hand disappeared, and with it, the light, " **I know lots of things** , **kid**!" He yelled as the darkness started to recede, making Danny look underneath him. A space started to appear below him, along with stars and various objects of knowledge; such as books and images of snakes. As soon as this area appeared, his ecto-blast immediately died out, making the teen suddenly on edge about the being. An hourglass appeared a split second later, along with a chess board. " **Care for a game**?!"

Danny eyed the chess set and immediately thought of Vlad, "Chess isn't my thing," he hissed out, glaring at the strategy game.

" **That's too bad**! **Hey**! **You like 'go fish'**!?" He yelled as the chess set shifted to a simple pile of cards. Danny immediately froze up at the sight of it. It was the exact cards that he had used to win back his freedom from Vlad. He knew it wasn't a coincidence, " **Let's go a few rounds** , **huh** , **Casper**?!"

"You've been spying on me…" Danny mumbled, " _How_? Who _are_ you?" He asked, not piecing the pieces together. He'd imagine that if Dipper were here, he would be able to solve it. Or Jazz.

There was a white full moon that appeared in front of Danny, blinding him with the sudden light. He shielded his eyes with a hand over his eyes. A black line started to appear over the moon and slid into the middle, along with a sudden cackle of laughter, " **Me**?! **I'm** -!"

* * *

"Danny!" Dipper yelled as he rushed over to where his friend had materialized out of thin air, "Are you okay? Where did you go?" He asked, shaking his body slightly. The teen opened his eyes and found that he had a pounding pain in his head.

The young half ghost groaned as he sat up, clutching his head, "Dipper…?" He asked slowly, looking around the area to find the teenagers gathered around him, "Is everyone okay?" He asked, a throbbing headache forming in his brain.

Robbie walked over to him with a small smile, "I don't know what to say, man, but you saved my life," he said as he looked away, "So…Thanks…" He mumbled, "You're pretty cool," he stated before he started to walk out of the convenience store. Danny watched him leave, and the rest of the teenagers followed suit. Wendy glanced back at him and gave him a small gentle smile before leaving. The young halfa found that he was completely out of it, and he couldn't think in coherent thoughts. He opened his mouth to speak, but words wouldn't form. It was as if he had been completely drained.

"Danny, seriously, are you okay?" Dipper asked, drawing the young halfa's attention back to him, "You _disappeared_ , man!"

"I…" Danny said as he placed a hand on his head, "I don't remember…" He mumbled as a pulsing pain went through him. Dipper helped him up, though Danny weight was mostly on him. The teenager was out of it, "How did you…Beat them?" He asked, placing his hand on his head with a hiss, "Where's…Mabel?" He asked, taking a long pause before each word.

Dipper glanced to the ground, "Uhh, that's not important!" He yelled quickly, "Mabel's alright, just taking a small nap outside the store. I have to help you get out of here, hand on," he ordered, helping his friend though the front entrance, "You should probably spend the night at the shack tonight," he suggested. "You seem seriously out of it," he said in concern. As soon as they were outside, they heard a scoff.

"That will not be necessary," Vlad said as he walked over to where the two of them were. "And before you ask, Daniel is my responsibility. When he didn't return home, I was simply devastated and went out to look for my dear nephew," the older halfa said with a chilling smile. Dipper looked over at the man and knew he was spouting out lies. He knew there was something off about the man, and he was so close to solving it.

Danny looked up at him and narrowed his eyes, trying to see the man clearly, only for him to see triple vision of everything, "I don't want to go with _you_ ," he said suddenly, making Dipper look over at him in worry.

Vlad glanced at the teen with an indescribable expression and rolled his eyes, "Give Daniel to me, he is not in his right mind," he stated, walking over to where the drowsy teen was with his arms opened slightly.

"I don't…" Danny struggled to say, but a pulsing pain erupted through his head and he let out a hiss, "At least I didn't wet the bed until I was five!" He yelled suddenly in a coherent sentence and in a high pitched voice.

The trio was quiet as Danny suddenly let out another hiss, "Stop hurting!" He yelled, placing a hand to his head and shut his eyes. Dipper lost his hold on his friend and he began to fall. The boy let out a gasp and scrambled to gain his friend's body, only for Vlad to catch him swiftly by the teen's elbows and slung him over his shoulder carelessly, "In the seventh grade you cheated on a math test, and you cheated off of Mary Young!" He yelled suddenly before letting out another hiss.

Dipper moved to go to his friend, but Vlad held a hand up to stop him, "Let me care for Daniel. I'll give you and your…" He trailed at the sleeping form against the store, "Dear sister, a ride back to your residence," he stated, walking to where his car was. Danny saw Dipper since he was slung over the man's shoulder.

"Your freshman year of college you stole pure Boron and tossed it into the school's fountain!" Danny yelled suddenly before another hiss of pain escaped him. The teen glanced at Dipper and mouthed the words 'Help me'.

"Maybe Danny should spend the night at my place?" Dipper asked again, he scooped his twin sister in his arms and walked over to where the man had stopped walking, "I mean, we're pretty close, and he was supposed to spend the night anyways."

Vlad glanced back at the boy with a deathly gaze, "Daniel must have bumped his head having too much fun. This is what is known as a concussion, boy," Vlad lectured in a demeaning tone, Dipper narrowed his eyes at the man before him.

"If he does have one," Dipper started, "And I know what that is, for your information," he added haughtily, not liking when someone thinks lowly of him, "Why are you holding him like that?" He asked.

"You're trying my nerves, Pines," Vlad threatened slightly, "I must get Daniel to bed, he needs to rest, as should you," Vlad stated, opening up his car door, almost throwing Danny into it, "Get in, it is quite late."

Dipper sighed dejectedly, "Sorry, Danny, I tried," he mumbled before setting his own sister in the car gently and getting in.

* * *

"Daniel, these nightly adventures will be stopped immediately," Vlad lectured him from the front seat of the car. Danny was in the back, and had an ice-cube that he had materialized for his head to help soothe the pain. He had gotten better with time, yet he still didn't know where those spurts of information had come from.

"You're not my dad, Vlad," Danny groaned as he rolled his eyes, "You can't tell me what to do."

Vlad merely chuckled, "Soon enough I'll be your father, little badger, don't you worry about that," he said as he shook his head at the childish teen.

Danny felt another surge of pain, though it wasn't as powerful as the first few, "I wish I could remember what happened…" He trailed under his breath, letting the ice fall from his head and onto the car floor. The teen watched the ice hit the carpeted floor in a small daze.

"You and I both, Daniel," Vlad mused, "Jack must have told you those idiotic stories of me. He always did have a mouth on him, the bumbling oaf…" Vlad sneered.

"He didn't tell me any of those stories…" Danny argued as he began to shut his eyes, "You _had_ to toss me in the car, didn't you?" He asked, shaking his head in disbelief, "How long were you out there?" He asked.

Vlad rose an eyebrow, "I beg your pardon?" He asked, feigning confusion.

Danny narrowed his eyebrows, "The convenience store," Danny clarified, "You never leave me unsupervised in this town for long."

"Long enough to know that you disappeared from this realm of existence," Vlad said in a soft tone. Danny almost believed him, but he quickly pushed that thought away. He couldn't imagine the older halfa caring for anyone else besides his own self.

"I'm surprised you didn't try to come and save me, you know, considering you want me to be your apprentice and son," Danny mumbled with disbelief.

Vlad was silent for a few moments that the teen thought he had been ignoring him, "I did try, believe it or not," he stated, "Yet, that damn store wouldn't open for me, and any attempt made against thos doors ended unsatisfactory," he explained, letting a small silence follow afterwards, "It wouldn't do me any good with one of my pawns being captured or ended."

Danny opened his eyes and stared at the roof of the car since he was laying down, "I'm touched."

* * *

The cabin was dead quiet when the two arrived to it. The lights were turned off, and they could hear Jack's loud snoring in the distance. Danny stumbled his way into the living room, grabbing the doorway before he completely tripped onto the carpet. He grumbled as his vision started to twist once again, but he did admit to himself that he was feeling a lot better.

"Take these," Vlad ordered, placing his hand beside the teen. Danny groggily looked at the hand and noticed two green glowing pills and scoffed out loud, shaking his head in disbelief.

"Yeah, like I'm going to take anything that _glows_ ," Danny mumbled.

Vlad narrowed his eyes, "Daniel, if you know what's good for you, you'll take these," he threatened, and the teen narrowed his eyes at the statement, taking it as a challenge, "Or don't," Vlad said off-handedly with a different tone, placing them on the table to the right of the front door and then started to walk away from him.

Danny couldn't believe how quick the older halfa was to change his mind, "What?" He questioned, making Vlad stop his movement and turn his head back at the teen slightly, "That's it?" He asked in suspicion, "No threat against my father or me?"

"Honestly, Daniel, it's up to you whether you want to keep living with that head pain," Vlad stated before walking again, "We can't take normal medication. It does nothing for us, as I'm sure you've noticed in the past," Vlad said in such a high tone, that the teen was sure that the man had a smirk on his face as he said it.

As Vlad disappeared from sight, the teen watched him leave before glancing back at the table. The pills seemed to glow in the darkness and he started to leave for his own room. He didn't get two steps before a throbbing pain attacked his head. He flinched, placing his hand on his head tenderly. "Okay, fine!" He hissed under his breath, grabbing the pills from the table in frustration and annoyment. He hated listening to Vlad, but if this was the only way to deal with this sudden pain, then he was down for anything; despite how pity he sounded. He quickly opened his mouth and shoved the pills in them before he changed his mind with his proud ego, and swallowed forcefully.

Walking through the darkness to his room, he managed to find the steps with his enhanced vision, but then it started to double in vision. He thought he was grabbing the handrail, but he missed by a few inches and started to fall. He started to feel drowsy and closed his eyes for a small fraction of a second. That was all the time the drug needed to invade his system, and he immediately fell asleep.

"Well, what do you know…?" Vlad mused with a smirk on his face, catching the teen in his arms before he completely fell on the steps, "He actually _did_ listen to me," Vlad stated, lifting the teen into his arms as he started to ascend the steps, each with a calculative step, "And they say that teenagers are rebellious," he started with his monologue, shaking his head, "All one really needs to know is how to manipulate them into listening to you," he finished, opening the door to the young halfa's room.

"What did you do?" Jazz asked with a glare on her face, immediately standing up from her bed, ready to get her brother, "It's not even eleven yet, and I know for a fact that my brother doesn't sleep until the odd hours in the morning," she accused with a dark tone.

Vlad ignored her and placed the sleeping teen in his bed, "You have the gall to address me in such way, Jasmine?" He asked, covering up the young halfa before turning his attention to the girl in front of him, "And before you argue," Vlad stated, placing his hand up, "I know that you told Daniel about our little encounter _and_ our talk."

"That wasn't talking," Jazz pipped up, watching Vlad intently as he took a step towards her. She was ready to use some of her ghost hunting training on Vlad. Sure, she hadn't done it before, but there was a first for everything. Vlad moved away from Danny, making Jazz run towards him with a concerned expression.

She tucked his long raven locks back, "Danny? Danny!" She yelled as she shook his body, "Danny!" She yelled at a higher volume at him not responding to her. "You did something," she growled out, not bothering to turn around to the older halfa.

Vlad examined the teen girl in front of him before he looked at Danny, "Something to help him sleep, perhaps," he admitted. This made the girl fist her hands in anger and stand up.

"You drugged him!" Jazz yelled as the realization came to her, and she found herself more alarmed than she was before, "Oh my god, you drugged him…" She trailed, her eyes wide, "What does it do?" She asked, taking a step towards the silent older halfa, "What does the drug do?"

Vlad rolled his eyes, "No need to get so flustered, Jasmine," he stated dryly, "His head was in pain, and I alleviated it."

Jazz snorted at his short explanation, "What do you get out of it?" She asked, crossing her arms. He rose an eyebrow in response, and she shook her head, "You never do anything without gaining _something_ in return," she stated, narrowing her eyes in accusation.

"Bed rest for a day," Vlad said with a shrug, "His movements will become stiff, and his powers will be given a chance to rejuvenate themselves," he explained, "You act as if I have condemned the boy to utter hell."

"An entire day without doing anything?" Jazz asked, "You really don't know Danny _at_ _all_ , do you?" She asked, shaking her head in disbelief, "He _hates_ being still, Vlad, he needs to go out and do things!" She yelled, growing angered at how the older man thought he knew everything about her brother, "Or maybe you do know, and you just don't care?" She hissed out, now glaring at the man.

Vlad rolled his eyes, "See you in the morning, Jasmine," he bided farewell, making his way to the door.

Jazz watched as he opened the door, her tone darkening significantly, " _Do_ you care about him?" She asked, "Answer me honestly, do you care about how I broke his obsession?" She asked again, this time at a higher volume, "Do you even care about how you drained his powers so that he couldn't fight enemies?"

"I will not have him die on me, if that is the answer you seek," Vlad responded, not bothering to turn around to address the girl, "I have far too many plans to make him join on me for him to suddenly fall out of them."

"You're heartless," Jazz countered his reasoning without any hesitation, "Do you even feel guilty about all the things you're putting him through?" She asked.

"Guilty about making his life a better one?" He asked before he chuckled in honest humor at such a question, "I'm afraid not," he stated, closing the door behind him.

Jazz let out a growl before looking at her brother protectively, "I know how you're always saying you're the hero, Danny…" She trailed, kneeling beside her brother's bed, "But this time I'll save you," she whispered placing her hand on her brother's sleeping chest.

* * *

Usually when the teen woke up, he felt refreshed and ready to take on the day. This time, however, he felt tired for absolutely no reason. He tried to move his legs upon his awakening, but found that they were about as useful as a paperclip. As an alternative, he tried to move his arms, but found that the blanket that was on top of them seemed to weigh a ton.

"Good morning, Daniel," Vlad greeted to the teen's bedside. Startled, the teen jumped and immediately looked to the side with wide eyes, "I'm sure you are a little confused with your situation."

"A _little_?!" Danny yelled, not finding his predicament to be taken lightly, "Why can't I move my body?!" He yelled again, fearing not able to move. He thought back to the night before, the pain in his head, the pills that he took. " _You_ did this to me!" He yelled, piecing the pieces together.

Vlad gave a small clap to mock the boy. The teen growled in anger, his eyes flashing a neon green as he did so, "I didn't do anything to you, my boy," he stated, folding his arms across his chest, "As I recall, you took those pills voluntarily, did you not?" He asked with a demeaning smirk. Danny wasn't mad at the older halfa anymore, he was angrier at himself, "You did this to yourself, little badger."

Danny struggled to move his body, but found that the more he tried to use his limbs, the heavier they seemed to feel, "No, no, no!" He yelled, not bothering how pitiful he sounded in front of Vlad, "I _knew_ there was something weird about those things!"

"A sedative," Vlad provided the answer for the teen, "A highly strong sedative at that," he explained, looking down at the helpless state that the young halfa was in, "It attacks the body from the head and lower."

"You can't do this to me," Danny semi-begged, drawing the older halfa's attention, "You can't make me defenseless just so that you can go after my dad," he said in a weak tone. His fear then turned into raw anger, making his eyes glow green once again, "I won't let you," he stated, gaining confidence.

Vlad chuckled at the teen's resolve to protect his father, "Calm down, Daniel," he ordered, shaking his head, "I won't go after Jack," he stated, noticing how the young halfa visibly relaxed in front of him, "Think of today as a relaxation day," he suggested with a slight shrug.

"I'm not going to stay in bed all day, Vlad," Danny hissed out, trying to move his muscles once again. As a result, he was met with the same conclusion; his body would not move no matter how badly he wanted it to.

"It seems like you're going to have to," Vlad said with a smirk before he snapped his fingers, "Now, I must go out into town, I must look for something that will progress my plans," he stated. A duplicated of Vlad Masters appeared next to the real one.

Danny growled and narrowed his eyes, "You're only telling me this because I won't be able to stop you!" He yelled as Vlad shrugged his shoulders.

The real Vlad started to head out the door, "Ah, well, that's unfortunate for you, isn't it?" He taunted with a grin on his face before he disappeared out of the room, closing the door behind him.

"You better leave me alone," Danny threatened, looking over at the duplicate Vlad with a glare, "Because I'm not talking to you."

"Isn't that precisely what you're doing right now?" Duplicate Vlad asked with a smug grin. Danny narrowed his eyes at the man, not finding it funny in the least. "It is far too easy to get under your skin, Daniel," the clone mocked.

Danny turned his head away from the clone and decided to glare at the wall, "What he's doing must be important if he sent a guard to watch over me," he stated, "Something that I could easily stop if I could get out of here," Danny mumbled.

The clone sat on the teen's bed, making the young halfa tense, "Which you can't, because I've made sure you couldn't," he stated, crossing his arms.

"Yay for you," Danny snapped as he rolled his eyes, "I bet you want to know where I went when that ghost zapped me, don't you?" He asked with a grin on his face. He looked over at the older halfa, and watched as interest flicked across his face before it disappeared.

"I thought you said you didn't remember?" The duplicate questioned.

Danny shrugged his shoulders stiffly, "I remember a few things now that my head doesn't hurt anymore, you want to know, Vladdie?" He taunted, knowing how duplicates worked. Maybe Vlad knew how to manipulate Danny, but on the other hand, Danny knew how to manipulate Vlad. To an extent. "Do you?  
 _Do_ _you_?" Danny taunted again.

Vlad frowned at that, he didn't like to be treated as inferior, "If you know something, I will force it out of you if I have to," he threatened.

"Whoa, _now_ I don't feel like sharing!" Danny pouted with a frown of his own, "You shouldn't threaten somebody to get information, that's not nice."

"Getting life lessons from a fourteen year old…" Vlad drawled out as he rolled his eyes, "You don't really know anything, do you?" He asked, getting straight to the point.

Danny grinned, "Do I?" He asked, staring right into the duplicate's eyes. Vlad narrowed his eyes and tried to see if the boy was lying. Usually, the older halfa could tell when he was, and didn't know if he was in this instance.

Vlad stood up from the bed, "What are you playing at, Daniel?" He asked with a raised eyebrow. Danny was bluffing about remembering where he was transported to, he still didn't remember anything. It was a little hazy, but he remembered a high pitched voice and a golden hand for some reason. But, that little information that he remembered wouldn't be able to appease Vlad, and the teen knew that.

"I'm a little tired," Danny stated with a yawn, knowing how to wear on the older halfa's nerves, "How about I tell you in about…" He trailed as he closed his eyes, "An hour or two?"

"Daniel…" Vlad warned in a dark tone.

Danny closed his eyes and enjoyed his relaxation, he started to think this wouldn't be too bad. A day without anything to do but lay in bed.

* * *

When the teen woke up, he immediately felt better, which was odd to him because he went to sleep with Vlad in the room. He stretched a little, his movements feeling stiff, but he was able to move them. This was a huge relief to the teen, and he let out a sigh of relief as he placed his arms on top of the comforter.

"Danny?" Dipper's voice asked as he knocked on the door, "I – Uh – Have to ask you something," he mumbled, unsure of himself from the tone he was using. The teen rose an eyebrow as he looked around the room. No Vlad, or duplicate Vlad in sight, though it wasn't as if he could tell the difference between the two.

"Yeah?" Danny asked, struggling to sit up, but managed to do it as his door opened up, "What's up?" Danny asked upon seeing the concerned look on his friend's face.

Dipper walked into the room, rubbing his arm nervously, "Do you think I, uh…" He trailed, not making a sentence. Danny nodded his head and waved his hand as quickly as he could given his predicament, "Do you think I'm manly?" He asked in a pressured tone.

Danny blinked, not expecting such a question out of the boy, "Do I think that you're…Manly?" He asked slowly, making sure that he had heard his friend correctly. Dipper nodded, looking straight into the teen's eyes, "What's this about, Dipper?" He asked, raising his eyebrows in slight concern.

"The way I look, and talk…Sing," Dipper stated as he looked down at the wooden floorboards, "Sneeze," he mumbled before looking back at the younger halfa, "Everyone thinks that I'm _cute_ or _adorable_!" He yelled out, walking to the teen's bedside as he let out a frustrated growl, "And maybe I tried to get manlier by a talking multi-headed bear," he admitted, making Danny slightly lost at the statement, yet he still tried to follow the boy, "And maybe that didn't exactly make me manly," he concluded, shaking his head.

"Dipper, what seems to be the problem?" Danny asked, not understanding where the boy was coming from. Dipper looked over at him with narrowed eyes and opened his mouth to argue against the teen, "You're one of the manliest guys I know," he stated with a small grin.

Dipper shook his head, "No, I'm not that manly," he mumbled out.

Danny chuckled, "Taking on gnomes, crazy wax figures, standing up to that Gideon psycho child," he explained, making Dipper blush at the compliments he was getting, "And no one can take on Plasmius in the forest like you did to save me," he admitted, "I still don't know about the convenience store ghosts, but you managed to overcome that too," he stated in a soft tone, making Dipper rub his arm in thought, "You don't need to change yourself to be manly, Dipper, because you're already manly."

"Thanks, Danny, I don't know what I'd do without you," Dipper said with a grin, "But – Uh – Why are you in bed all day anyways?" He asked, knowing how active his friend was, either he was out on walks or battling some kind of supernatural creature. It seemed wrong that he was in the house.

"My dad's best friend drugged me," Danny stated bluntly, making Dipper's eyes widen.

"Drugged you?!" Dipper yelled, his mind blown that the white haired man would do such a thing to his friend, "How? Why!" He suddenly yelled, walking over to the bed, "Do I need to get you out of here? Where are you parents through all this? Why are they just sitting downstairs? Is this abuse?!"

Danny waved his hand down, "Calm down, Dipper," he ordered, "I kind of took the drug myself, so it was kind of my own fault," he mumbled with a sheepish grin, "I didn't really know what the drug would do…" He trailed as Dipper only looked at his friend.

Dipper nodded slowly, "We should still get you out of here, Danny, why don't you come to the shack?" He asked, placing his hand on the teen's bed in uncertainty.

"I would love to, if you know," Danny stated, rolling his eyes slightly, "I could move any of my body parts…" He trailed with a small amount of scorn in his tone.

"Daniel will just have to stay here for the rest of the evening," Vlad stated, walking into the room with a small grin on his face, his hands behind his back as he stopped a few feet away from the duo.

Dipper glared at the man and fisted his hands at his sides, "You are completely sick, man! Drugging someone!" He yelled up at the man.

Vlad ignored the boy and instead looked at Danny with interest, "Do you feel up to telling me now, little badger?" He asked, placing his arms behind his back. Danny glared at the man, not wanting to even respond to the man at all, "Or do you need a small amount of persuasion?" He asked, glancing at Dipper.

"You expose yourself and you'll have one more enemy on the list," Danny growled out, not wanting Dipper to become a target in Vlad's schemes. Vlad waved his hand in the air and shook his head, chuckling as he did the action.

"Why, Daniel, I won't have to expose myself," Vlad mused, a Vlad Plasmius clone appearing right next to him. At the sudden entrance, Dipper took a step back, his form shaking in fear.

Dipper let out a gasp, "You work together?!" He yelled out loud in confusion. He stared at the ghost's red menacing eyes and knew that they were the ones that he was staring at right before he got pushed off the fence yesterday.

Danny hissed, trying to move his body parts, and found that his arm was being raised in the air with all his might, "Leave. Him. Alone," he ordered out, his eyes turning a bright neon green color in anger, "I mean it, Vlad!" He yelled out.

"Empty threats," Vlad remarked, eyeing the teen in front of him with amusement, "Kill the boy," he addressed to Plasmius clone. Plasmius smirked, his fangs showing to intimidate the boy in front of him. It worked as Dipper screeched before diving underneath the bed, and pulled out his journal.

"I swear, you hurt him, and I'll make you pay," Danny stated, his arm being lowered some from being unable to keep it in the air. Sweat appeared on his face from using all his energy and his arm was visibly shaking.

Vlad walked over and placed the arm down to the bedside, much to the teen's anger and frustration, "You aren't going to do anything, Daniel," he stated in a low whisper, "You don't have enough energy to keep a limb in the air, nevertheless use your ghost powers," he hissed out. He had a smirk on his face at watching the teen in mental conflict with himself.

"There was darkness all around me," Danny started to explain, and immediately the Plasmius clone stopped pursuing Dipper and paused at the side of the bed, "And a high pitched voice," he stated, shaking his head, "Like a geeky kind of voice, and kind of sadistic tone to it," he explained before looking up at Vlad's eyes. "I'm sure you can relate."

"You are wearing my patience, boy," Vlad sneered, not finding amusement to the teen's words, "Get to the point before your friend suffers the consequences."

Danny placed his hands up in defense, "Okay, okay!" He yelled out, "And then there was a golden hand out of nowhere," he finished, "That's it."

Vlad rose an eyebrow, walking a few steps to the teen, "That's it?" He questioned, examining the teen's face.

"That's it," he repeated, placing his hands down on the bed, "What were you looking for you in town?" He asked with a raised eyebrow, trying to get information for information. He knew it was a useless tactic against Vlad, since the only way he'd find out something about the older halfa is if he'd let him find out.

"It wasn't an object, Daniel, it was a person," Vlad stated, letting his Plasmius clone disappear, and Dipper let out a sigh of relief from underneath the bed, "And before you even begin to ask, no, I will not tell you who I was looking for," he said with a smirk as he began to walk away, but stopped before he reached the door, "Pines, I suggest you don't tell anyone about what transpired here, for if you do…" He trailed, looking Dipper in the eyes, "You will not live to see tomorrow," he threatened before walking out of the room, and closing the door behind him.

Dipper calmed his heartbeat as he climbed out from under the bed, "He's just a _joy_ to be around," he mused out dryly before standing up and dusting himself off.

Danny let out a relieved sigh, "That was close…" He trailed out, fully relaxing as his body slumped against the bed. Dipper watched his friend's tenseness leave him and brought his journal on top of the bed. The teen eyed it curiously and watched as the boy began to shift through the pages.

"That was the thing that pushed me off the fence," Dipper stated, not looking into his friend's eyes. Danny looked at the boy and clenched his teeth and closed his eyes at that. He couldn't protect Dipper from Vlad's schemes. Vlad had very well told him that a few nights ago. "Anyway," he said, drawing the teen back to reality as Danny opened back up his eyes, "According to this journal, we can actually see where he went to today," he informed, finding the correct page.

"I can't read that…It's all in code or something," Danny said, taking one look at the journal page and finding it encrypted.

Dipper let out a knowing smile, "Yeah, but once you get the code, it's practically second nature," he stated, "I think the author, whoever that is, did this as a sort of precaution," Dipper explained. Danny looked at him with a raised eyebrow, "We just recite this message, and we'll figure out who he met with," Dipper instructed, pointing to a paragraph composed only of numbers.

Danny shook his head, "It's still amazing how you can read this," Danny commented, and Dipper gave him a smile in return before diverting his attention back to the journal.

"Wohs em taht s'nam yad yrotsih!" Dipper yelled, his palm touching the journal. He grabbed Danny's hand and soon a bright blue light overcame the two of them, making them both fall asleep right where they were sitting. Dipper fell onto the floor in a fast sleep, and Danny banged his head against his pillow as he fell asleep.

"How are you two-?" Maddie began to ask, walking into the room and finding the two of them asleep, "Aw! They must have been tuckered out!" She exclaimed, noticing the journal and shrugging it off. She closed the door behind her and walked down the steps to rejoin her husband and best friend down in the living room. Jazz was eyeing everyone around her when she thought Vlad wasn't looking to make sure they were all alright. Vlad, who saw the teen's glance out of the corner of his eye found it amusing and flashed her a smirk. She let out a growl and focused more on her book.

* * *

"Okay…" Dipper called out, noticing how they were floating just a few inches from the ground, "This must be what it feels like to be you?" He questioned, his tone holding a joking manner to it. Danny glanced over at his friend and let out a chuckle.

"A little," Danny admitted as he noticed Vlad exiting his room, "Come on, he's making his move!" He informed, hovering closer to the man he hated. Vlad walked around the wooden cabin before he walked into the kitchen and made himself some coffee.

Dipper watched and crossed his arms, "Did he even go anywhere today?" He asked, and Danny let out a groan and shook his head, "He might have done this just to psyche you…" He trailed, looking back to where the kitchen was and found a pink mist, "Where did he go?" He asked, looking around the kitchen, floating to where he had been.

Danny grabbed Dipper's arm and went to the spot where Vlad had transported away from, "Follow me," he ordered sternly, and soon they were transported to a used car dealer ship. Dipper looked around, not used to the sudden scene change. He took his arm away from the teen and started to float over to where some trees were. He suddenly felt the need to puke, and didn't know what would happen if he suddenly let it out. "Why would he go here?" He asked, noticing the man that owned the business, "Gleeful…" He trailed, alerting Dipper to what was going on.

"You mean…Gideon?" Dipper asked, a small amount of fear and recognition was in his voice, "Why would he go to Gideon?" He asked, shaking his head, "He was a fraud with only his medallion to fuel his powers!"

"Or so we think…" Danny added, walking over to the backyard of the house.

Vlad had his arms behind his back as he looked at the white haired child in front of him, "I understand that you want certain people out of the way," Vlad began his business proposal, "It seems we have common interests."

Gideon looked at the man in disbelief, "I don't believe I know what you mean," he stated, "Surely you aren't talking about Fenton and Pines?" He asked, getting right down to the matter, "Isn't Fenton your son?"

"Not yet, I'm afraid," Vlad said in a dark tone. Danny couldn't help but feel shivers run down his spine by the tone. It held such possessiveness, that he felt the need to run away from the man at that instant. Dipper noticed the teen float a few feet away from the scene. "However, the Pines children are a hindrance to me. One in particular, the boy."

"Dipper…" Gideon seethed, "Oh, I have a few plans on how to get revenge on him," he mused, rubbing his pudgy hands together diabolically, "I'm just waiting 'till the right moment."

Vlad nodded his head, "Perhaps you could help me find something else," he mentioned, gaining the child's attention, "The society of the blind eye," he introduced, "Have you heard of them?" He asked, Gideon rose an eyebrow.

The white haired child chuckled, "Of course I have, why, you could say it runs in the family," he stated cryptically, "What do you need them for?" He asked, a little suspicious on why he would want to see such a secret organization within Gravity Falls.

"I have plans…" Vlad trailed, but he was stopped when his head suddenly looked to the right, "We will have to speak with this another day," he stated, placing his hands to the side, "Urgent matters have come up."

"The Fenton child?" Gideon asked rhetorically, "As long as you keep him away from my targets, we have a deal," he informed with a grin.

Vlad glanced at the boy with a smirk on his face, "Excellent."

Danny and Dipper suddenly woke up from their induced sleep and looked around groggily, " _Great_ …" Danny stated, rubbing his head. He noticed that he was in full control of his body and he let out a small smile. He placed a hand out, and an ecto-blast immediately came to him. He closed his hand over it, letting it go out.

"This is bad!" Dipper yelled and stood up from the floor, "Those two working together?" He asked, shaking his head, "What are we going to do, Danny?" He asked, looking to his friend for advice.

"I…" Danny mumbled, "I really don't know," he answered honestly, watching Dipper's reaction as he spoke. The boy's jaw dropped and his eyes widened, "Let me think of a plan for a few days."

Dipper closed his journal with a glare, "We might not have a few days!" He yelled, "They could act today! Or tomorrow!" He exclaimed, grabbing his journal, "How are you not concerned about this?!"

Danny let out a hiss, his eyes turning green from his anger, "I am!" He yelled, losing control of his emotions. Dipper took a step back in fear at the teen's power, and Danny's eyes softened, his eyes turning back to normal. He felt horrible at snapping at his friend like that.

"Dipper-!"

"I'll figure this out myself…" Dipper mumbled, interrupting Danny, and without the teen's enhanced hearing, he might not have been able to hear it. The boy suddenly ran out of the room, and the teen ran after him.

Danny watched as the boy ran down the stairs, "Dipper!" He yelled over the railing. Dipper didn't even glance up and instead ran out the door and slammed it shut behind him. The teen felt a tug at his heart and he placed a hand over it as he crouched down to the ground.

Footsteps walked up to the teen, and a figure leaned against the railing, "Oh my…" He exclaimed in an amused tone. Danny didn't have to look up to know that it was Vlad, and he chose to ignore him, "Did you two have a falling out?" He asked, a smirk forming on his face.

"He didn't reject me, if that's what you're thinking," Danny mumbled out, his hair falling over his face, blocking out any view of Vlad. His tone seemed fake even to him. He knew that Dipper had rejected his help, and in turn it had affected his obsession.

"Daniel, you don't even sound believable," Vlad stated, shaking his head as he bent down to the teen. Danny tensed up from the action, and Vlad noticed it, "Do you wish to talk about it?" He asked, placing his hand on the teen's back.

Danny's eyes widened at the fatherly action and quickly pushed himself away from Vlad, "Don't touch me," he said in a shaky voice. He meant to voice it with anger, but instead fear attached itself to his voice.

Vlad stood up and crossed his arms as he walked over to the teen, "What happened to all that confidence?" He asked, his smirk growing on his face, "Don't tell me that without something to protect it… _Vanished_?"

"You know that's exactly how it works," Danny stated, trying to calm his shaking limbs, "Why don't you lose your obsession?" He asked rhetorically, "Why don't you see how it feels?"

"Oh, dear boy," Vlad mused, standing over the teen, "My obsession will never _be_ lost, do you wish to know why?" He asked, bending down next to the teen. Danny looked over at him, trying to contain his fear. He looked at the focused gaze that Vlad seemed to have, "Because you are one of them," he added dramatically.

Danny's eyes widened at the statement, "N-No…" He stated, "I-I c-can't be," he added. He tried to scramble away from Vlad, but the older halfa latched onto the teen's upper arm, making his stay where he was, "You didn't even meet me until a few months ago!" He yelled in denial.

Vlad chuckled, "You are quite dense, aren't you, little badger?" He questioned. Danny didn't even bother to send a glare the man's way. He was completely shaken up by that statement, "I said that you were ' _one'_ of my obsessions," he said, shaking his head, "You can fight against me every _second_ of every _day_ , but you'll _never_ win."

"You can't do this to me," Danny whispered. Vlad had to strain to hear it, but he did. "You can't make me be your son," Danny added, his entire body shaking. His resolve was quickly breaking, and the older halfa knew that. Vlad let out a chilling smile, yet, Danny didn't notice it because he was staring off into space.

"I can make you do anything I want you to do," Vlad stated, letting go of the teen's arm. He stood up and observed the teen in front of him. The older halfa knew that this was the weakest point that the teen was at, and he liked seeing his arch enemy so broken in front of him. "I knew this day of bed rest would benefit you, Daniel," he said on a much lighter tone, "I'll bet you don't feel like leaving the house anymore, do you?" He asked with a grin on his face.

Danny looked away from the man and closed his eyes, a few tears started to roll down his face. Vlad let out a sigh and shook his head, "Leave me alone…" Danny whispered, not wanting to look at the man in front of him anymore.

Vlad placed his hand in his pockets and held a smirk on his face, "As you wish, son," he stated, walking away with each calculative step. Danny opened his eyes and looked down at the living room from the inside balcony.

"Sam…Tuck…" Danny whispered as he placed his arms on his knees and placed his head on his arms, "Please, help me," he mumbled.

 **To be continued**

* * *

 **A/N: So, a few things to say that you might be wondering about...**

 **1.) I hated that 'lamby-dance' thing in the actual show, and so I have chosen to leave it out. Because I really didn't think it was needed, and Dipper doesn't need to be humiliated in the story like that. He was already embarrassed on the show.**

 **2.) The 'Dipper Vs. Manliness' thing was a little short. I actually really didn't like that episode except when he started to sing in front of the mirror. That shit was funny as hell, yo.**

 **3.) Mabel has an extreme crush on Danny, but Danny is completely clueless to it.**

 **4.) The only reason why Vlad allowed Dipper to enter the cabin was so that he could use him against Danny. Why? Because Vlad is a high functioning sociopath who sees everybody as pawns. It just so happened to work in his favor because of Dipper rejecting Danny's help. Did he know it would happen like that? No, but that's dumb luck.**

 **5.) I was too lazy to put in an actual cipher into this chapter, so enjoy the backwards messages. I don't got the time to put that in, and you guys probably don't have the time to decipher it. It works both way, you see.**

 **6.) I've watched the Nightmare Before Christmas seven times this year. Four of them around Halloween time, and I'm musically dead inside. Making Christmas, guys. Making freaking Christmas.**

 **7.) Jazz might seem to be mopping but she becomes a straight up G in the next chapter. Speaking of the next chapter, I'm probably going to much four episodes together because nothing really eventful happens in them. (Relating to my plotline). And so I need to make it interesting for you guys to read.**

 **8.) Is Danielle going to appear? I don't know, I don't really like her that much, but we'll see.**

 **8.2) Why have an encounter with Bill? Because he's freaking awesome. That's why.**

 **9.) OMG, Gideon/Vlad team up! Yeah, that wasn't really a surprise. At the very beginning, I had planned on making them collaborate. Though, Vlad wants the Blind Eye, and Gideon just wants Mabel (like a freeaak) but we'll push that aside for now. Also, that's what I meant at the beginning with the whole 'you guys wanted it' thing. AND NOW YOU HAVE IT.**

 **That's it for me, if there's anything you guys want to know and/or have any questions about the story, feel free to leave a review. See you guys next time, and have a great new year! Let's all make those new year resolutions about eating healthier and exercising that'll probably last two weeks.**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Hey pepperonis! It's been a while, I hope you guys are still with me. Been cram packed with school lately, been on academic probation for a while, and that sucks I guess. Mostly math has been completely messing with me. I only managed to get through the next chapter, it got pretty long and I decided that no one likes long chapters. Unless you do? Well, I don't know what you guys want from me. Haha.**

 **I'll try and put in more of the other characters, but no promises.**

 **On with the story, now, I guess.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Gravity Falls or Danny Phantom**

 **Undisclosed summer**

* * *

Jazz woke up first, though it wasn't much of a surprise. She would always wake up before her brother, and she was okay with that. If anything, it meant that she was becoming more of an adult. The teenager stretched and did a small yawn before glancing over to see her brother drawing something on some copy paper. She rose an eyebrow and sat up on the mattress, "Danny?" She asked, unsure if what she was seeing was real. He didn't answer her, and she then noticed that he was listening to some music. "Danny!" She said a little louder.

He turned and saw his sister looking at him in concern. He took his ear buds out of his ears and looked tiredly over at his sister, "Sorry, did you say something?" He asked in a monotone. His face was completely drained, and he looked to be on the edge of collapsing.

"Geez, little brother, did you sleep at all last night?" She asked lightly, standing up from her bed and walked over to the small desk that Danny was currently doing his artwork on. She leaned over and noticed a few dark swirls, but nothing that was artistic, "What are you working on…?" She asked, trying to take a better look.

"Nothing," Danny answered with no emotion. He showed his sister his scribbles, and she frowned at the swirls of nothing. "Just couldn't sleep," he answered, placing his face in his hands tiredly. "Every time I did…" He trailed, looking outside of the triangular window.

Jazz glanced at him out of the corner of her eyes, "Danny?" She asked, making him shift his attention from the window and towards his sister. He rose an eyebrow and stared up at her blankly, "What happened every time you slept?" She asked, trying to help her brother the only way she knew how. She was trying to be an aspiring psychologist, after all. She could at least to this much to help him out.

To be honest, ever time Danny closed his eyes, he saw Vlad winning. He saw him living with Vlad and becoming completely miserable. His father's name on a tombstone, and Vlad basically ruling the world. It was a nightmare every time he closed his eyes, and he couldn't get any sleep at all. He wondered if it was all tied into him losing his obsession. It felt much worse than the time Jazz had broken it, this time it felt completely shattered. "Just…bad dreams," he answered, knowing that if he told Jazz everything, she would try and help. He didn't have the energy to deal with her today, and besides, he doubted that she could even possibly help him.

"Can I keep this?" Jazz asked, making Danny glance back at his sister with a small shrug, "You know, I kind of like it," she lied through her teeth. She was going to study it, knowing that there had to be some sort of symbol within the scribbles. She had studied enough case studies to know about mental patients and their artwork. Maybe there was a hidden meaning within the artwork itself?

"I guess," he answered half-heartedly. He stared back out the window, finding himself lost within the small image of the wilderness. He wanted to fly through the trees, but at the same time, he wanted to stay right where he was. He just didn't have the energy to do anything he wanted to do. Besides that, he doubted that his ghost powers would work regardless. "Jazz, can you…" He trailed, placing his arms on his desk to lay his head on them, "I don't know, just leave me alone?" He asked, again with no emotion.

Jazz didn't know what was happening to her brother, but she didn't like it. Usually when he told her to leave him alone, it was snappy and filled with frustration or annoyment. This time, it was as if he didn't care. He didn't care enough to raise his voice, or even lift his head for long. "Uh, sure…" She muttered, placing the picture in her pocket to analyze later, "Do you want me to get you anything?" She asked, wanting to see if he'd be okay, "Water? Food?" She suggested. She was about to go on, only when she heard the room's door open.

"That will not be necessary, Jasmine," Vlad stated, making Danny grow tense if only by the sound of his voice. However, the teen felt drained that he couldn't muster up enough energy to glare at the older hybrid. Instead, he decided to ignore him and attempted to not drift off to sleep. When he slept, all he had was nightmares. "We are going to the diner down the road for breakfast this morning," he informed the girl, who was standing in the middle of the room still dressed in her pajamas.

"Sure, just let me get _dressed_ first," Jazz spat out, making sure to glare down the man as she exited out of the room. She grabbed her usual attire from the small closet and stomped out the door. Vlad heard her abating footsteps as the teen went down the hall and towards the bathroom. The older hybrid decided to not comment on her attitude and decided to instigate his favorite pawn.

Vlad walked over to Danny, who could hear him coming from a mile away, "Feeling any better, Daniel?" He asked in honest curiosity, and the teen groaned in response, digging his head deeper into his arms. The teen wanted to disappear, but he knew that his ghost powers were more unreliable now than they had ever been, "I'll take that as a no," he commented on the teen's lack of communication skills.

Danny raised his bed and looked at the older halfa, "What do you _want_ from me, Vlad?" He asked, not in the mood for any of his games, "Want to annoy me to death?" He asked, not waiting for Vlad to answer him, "I'll say that you're already _half_ _way_ there," he grumbled placing one arm up and resting his head on his hand. It was all the teen could do to show his distaste for the man in front of him. The younger halfa was too tired that he hadn't even realized the small pun he had said, and Vlad didn't find it funny to show any response to it.

"You're slipping into a depression," Vlad informed intelligently. Danny rolled his eyes, not wanting to deal with the man at all, "Why don't you save us _both_ the trouble and agree to join me?" He lowered his voice to the teen.

"You'd like that, wouldn't you?" Danny asked with a glare. Out of the corner of his eyes, he could see Sam and Tucker walking through the hallway behind Vlad. They were chuckling and laughing with each other, and Danny's breath hitched in his throat. His eyes grew wide, and he straightened his posture, trying to find where they had went to.

Vlad noticed his change in attitude and turned his head to where the teen was looking. Not seeing anything there, he was assuming that the teen was testing his patience; it was a thing that the teenager liked to do quite frequently. When Vlad looked back at the young halfa, it dawned on the man, "It's from the lack of sleep," he muttered mostly to himself. He then stared seriously into the teen's eyes, "You're experiencing hallucinations."

Danny let out a snort, focusing his attention back to the man in front of him, "Okay, then can the hallucination kindly leave me alone?" He asked, a small smile on his face, as if he had found the greatest joke that had ever existed. Vlad on the other time didn't find it as funny as the sleep deprived teen had and narrowed his eyes.

"You think you're comedic, Daniel?" Vlad asked, growing angrier by the second. Danny noticed the shift in demeanor and started to chuckle, much to Vlad's annoyment. How could the teenager have let himself get this bad? It was borderline psychotic, but that wasn't a surprise to the man. Danny liked to do stupid and reckless activities.

"I think that I'm hilarious," he answered, almost falling off the chair because he couldn't keep his body up. He closed his eyes, waiting for his body to hit the floor, only for Vlad to catch him before he fell. The older halfa let out a scowl at the teen's neglect for himself before he heard Jazz enter the room again.

"What do you think you're doing to my brother?!" She exclaimed, and Vlad rolled his eyes. Dealing with a sleep deprived teenager he could barely handle, but now he had to deal with an over protective sister _for_ her sleep deprived brother. Vlad's day was going from bad to worse in the span of a few seconds. How lovely.

* * *

Danny could barely keep his eyes open as his family and Vlad entered the small restaurant. In fact, Jazz was by his side the entire time to make sure he didn't trip carelessly over anything small. He tried to get out of breakfast, but Vlad had his ways of persuasion. It took the older halfa almost possessing Jack for the younger halfa to agree to the outing…even though he was about to collapse any second. They chose a table, and each of them sat in a wooden chair.

"Howdy!" Lazy Susan called out as she pulled out a notepad to take their orders, "What can I get you all lovely folks?" She asked with a friendly smile. Danny rested his elbow on the table and half fell asleep where he sat. His eyes were closed, and Jazz glanced at her brother in worry. She decided that she would order for him and save him the trouble of using any energy.

"My brother and I will just take some pancakes," Jazz said gently up at the older woman. Lazy Susan nodded and glanced at Vlad, who was sitting next to Jazz. He was looking at Danny in mild interest and then handed the menu to Maddie.

"Some tea," he answered, looking up at the woman as well. Maddie and Jack ordered the all you can eat pancake buffet, and left it at that. Jack was laughing over a joke he had just made, and Maddie slapped her husband on the arm playfully.

Danny had a few minutes of sleep before he jolted himself awake, his eyes wide with fear. Jazz frowned when she saw a faint green light up in his orbs before they returned to their normal hue of blue. He looked around for a few seconds, finally realizing where he was before he ran a hand through his hair, releasing a small sigh of relief. This action, however, as subtle as the teenager wanted it to be, was caught by everyone at the table. "Son?" Jack asked, making the teen glance over tiredly over at his father, "Maybe you should head to bed when we get back?" He asked, genuine worry in his tone. "Get a few Z's before three!"

Jazz looked over at Danny, and soon everyone at the table was looking at the teen with unwavering gazes. Vlad in particular looked at the teenager like he was a test subject that the older halfa was trying to figure out. "Uh…" He trailed out, not liking the attention. He felt his bags underneath his eyes, and in general he just felt overwhelmingly tired. "Yeah," he agreed, not liking all the attention as he slowly stood up, "I'm just going to go for a walk," he said, wanting to get away from them all. He just wanted to be by himself. He needed to figure out what was wrong with him.

"I'll go with you," Jazz said, her protectiveness getting the better of her as she too started to get up from her seat. Danny shook his head with minimal effort, and Jazz let out a frown at her brother not wanting her around. "Okay, just come back soon," she added, looking down at the table.

"Sure…" Danny mumbled rubbing his face with his hands to wake himself up. He almost tripped over a table leg, before he righted himself back up. The teen didn't care enough to get angry, and instead just shrugged and placed his hands in his pockets.

Maddie followed her son with her eyes, and as soon as he exited the eating establishment, she frowned. The mother noticed that he couldn't even walk in a straight line. "I'm worried about him," she admitted, looking over at Jack. She missed the flash of malice and amusement that was in Vlad's eyes. Jazz, however, did not, and the teen girl clenched her fists underneath the table. "He seems…I don't know, disturbed?" She asked, trying to find the right word, " _Stressed_?"

Vlad let out an exaggerative sigh, "I didn't want to tell you this…" He trailed, placing a concerned look on his face. Jazz let out a glare at this, she knew he was faking. She knew exactly what he thought of her brother. And it wasn't concern, it was a strange obsessiveness. "But Daniel has opened up to me."

"He…" Maddie trailed, in confusion, "Talks to you?" She asked in an unbelievable tone. Her son doesn't even talk to her about his problems. She was a little jealous that he was talking to someone like Vlad of all people. Especially since the two of them both know how Vlad feels about Jack. She was hurt at that fact, and was a little angry. Had her son chosen Vlad over her?

"He has," he continued his lie. Jazz knew that this was a ploy for the man to turn things around in his favor. He was a business man, after all, when he saw an opportunity he would take it. "He says that he's completely stressed from school. That he doesn't have many friends, and that he wishes he could have a new start…" He trailed, placing a hand up dramatically to his face, expressing his concern.

Jazz cleared her throat, drawing the adult's attention to her, "Maybe that's just what _you_ inferred from his talks with you," she hissed out, unable to keep the rage out of her voice. "I talk to Danny on a _regular_ basis, and he is completely fine at school," she boasted, knowing that she was starting a fight with Vlad. The girl saw his eyes narrow towards her, but she didn't care at how angry he got at her. She needed to defend her brother, because if she wasn't there, then Vlad might have already won the war, "And even _though_ he has a small number of friends, that's all he needs."

Maddie glanced at her daughter for sticking up for her brother. She placed a hand on her face in thought, after all, they were brother and sister, and surely they would talk more to each other than someone like Vlad. She had also never heard her talk so strongly about Danny, it seemed like she was trying desperately for her to believe in her daughter. "Then what do you think is wrong with your brother?" She asked, wanting to know what her psychologist in training thinks.

"I think he just needs time to recover from this funk," Jazz answered honestly, giving her diagnosis to her mother. "Before we start jumping to…conclusions," she stated, drifting her eyes to Vlad, who seemed to shrug his shoulders in response.

"I absolutely agree with Jasmine," Vlad earnestly countered. Jazz rose an eyebrow at the complete turnaround with his argument. "I was just so concerned with Daniel that I thought of the worst," he said, shaking his head, as if scolding himself. Jazz then knew what he was doing, he was a great manipulator. He would win with either argument, and the teen hated that. "After all, I think of him like a son," he said, placing his hand on his heart.

Jack stood up and ran over to Vlad to embrace him, "Oh, Vladdie!" He yelled, adoring the fact that Vlad cared so much about his family, "Of course you were only looking out for him!" He chided out, letting go of the man before he started to lose the ability to breathe. Jazz secretly hoped that somehow her father would have ended his evil existence right then and there. She had her hopes let down when she saw the older hybrid start to intake air ruthlessly.

Maddie nodded, her thought of Vlad lightening up, "I understand that you care about Danny," she said with a small gentle smile, "It means so much to me that you're taking it so personally." Jazz saw the small blush that appeared on Vlad's face, but unfortunately her mother did not. The teen girl wanted to scream out in frustration; how was her family so blind?

"Anything for the family," Vlad stated with a small smile of his own. He glanced over at Jazz and gave her a half smirk at him winning the battle. She narrowed her own eyes at the man, and it was at that moment that the waitress came back with a tray and a small amount of flyers.

"Here's your food, folks!" Susan greeted, handing the tea to Vlad and then placed the food on the table. Maddie rose an inquisitive eyebrow at the flyers as she took her plate of pancakes before Jack had decided to ear her share as well, "Oh! Silly me!" She yelled, chuckling a small amount at her own forgetfulness, "There's a promotional party at the Mystery Shack tonight!" She stated, shaking her head as she placed the rest of the food on the table and then the small packet of papers.

Jazz looked quizzically at the flyers, unsure if such a party would grab her attention or not. It grabbed something of hers, and she slowly took a flyer to read it. For some reason it had glitter all over it, and some of it fell onto her pancakes. She didn't mind, Vlad had ruined her appetite anyways. It was then that she remembered who lived there; Dipper and Mabel Pines. The last one that had talked to her brother was, in fact, Dipper, and since Danny refused to tell her what had happened, she was going to get answers of her own. "Hey, mom?"

Maddie placed her food on the table and started to dig in already, "Yes?" She asked, not knowing why her daughter was asking her something to begin with. Her daughter hardly asked her anything since she considered herself an adult.

"I'm going to this," Jazz said, raising the paper to show her parents, "I think Danny will miss it though," she stated, placing the paper back down on the table.

"I suppose if he gets enough…" Maddie trailed before her eyes widened at the fact that her son was no longer with them. She had forgotten that he went on a walk, and hadn't returned. "Danny!" She answered, remembering him, and was worried that something had happened to him.

Vlad stood up, placing a hand towards Maddie, signaling her to not get up, "I will look for him," he answered, a small comforting smile on his face. Maddie nodded her head and placed her hands on the table, "I will return in a few moments," Vlad stated, straightening his suit as he strolled over to the front door and opened it.

Jazz stuck a piece of her pancake in her mouth and looked at Vlad until he disappeared from sight, "Frootloop…" She whispered under her breath, knowing that he wanted as many moments to be alone with her brother as possible. She hated that man, but knew that there was nothing that she could do or say to get her parents to think of him the way she did. Especially not after that little speech and his commitment to find him. She swallowed and tried to brain storm ways she herself could take the older halfa down. She seemed perfectly fine with poisoning the man in his sleep.

* * *

Danny had managed to walk out into the forest a little ways before collapsing next to a tree. Vlad didn't have to look very hard to find him, especially with his ecto-signature completely off the charts. He let out a sigh when he found him, relieved to find the teen all in one piece and not be mauled from whatever they had in Gravity Falls. He walked up to the teen and looked at his face. It looked worse from before, the bags under his eyes seemed to grow in size. "Daniel," Vlad spoke to the teen, letting him wake up on his own.

Of course, Danny had just had another nightmare with him being Vlad's son, and opened his eyes suddenly. Vlad was standing right in front of the teen when he noticed the younger halfa's eyes flash green for a few seconds, along with an ecto-blast from his hand. The older halfa turned intangible to avoid the attack from hitting him, and instead it hit a nearby tree. Vlad's eyes narrowed at the teen at the sudden attack, and Danny took a few seconds to realize that he was no longer dreaming. He looked up and noticed the man that was causing him nightmares in the first place standing directly in front of him, "Vlad," he breathed out, sitting up and placing a tired hand on his face.

"Bad dream?" Vlad asked, stating the obvious out loud.

"No," Danny spat out sarcastically, "And even if it was, I'm not talking to _you_ about it," he hissed out, standing up. He glared at the man as he took a step, but not before losing his concentration and tripping over an exposed tree root.

Vlad rolled his eyes and caught the stubborn teen with his quick reflexes, "Have you finally come to your senses?" He asked the teen, and Danny pushed him away from him. He didn't want the man's help in any way, shape, or form. The older halfa was persistent though, and the younger halfa was about to break. Especially if he didn't get sleep pretty soon. Still, the lack of sleep was helping him in a small way. He was too focused on him being tired that the depression from his broken obsession was overlooked.

Danny scoffed at the man, "Came to my senses a long time ago," he answered, taking small steps, careful to notice his surroundings this time, "I found that you're a real big frootloop," he commented, hearing the growl from behind him. He didn't notice the ecto-blast coming at him until he was too late. The teen fell to the ground, his back burning uncontrollably from where the attack hit. His healing wasn't working because of his unreliable ghost powers, and he should have known that talking back to Vlad would mean trouble on his end. Trouble and hurt.

"I am a patient man, Daniel," Vlad said, walking to the teen. He watched as the younger halfa's back arched with pain, and how he was struggling to stand up. Vlad couldn't himself when he placed a foot on the teen's back, pushing him down to the harsh ground. He added insult to injury, and he could practically feel the teen's body squirm from underneath him. "Yet, even this game of ours is getting tiring," he stated, twisting his foot, and he only stood there when the teen let out a growl of pain.

"That…" Danny hissed out, "Really sucks for you," he commented back, once again trying to stand up, even with the full weight of Vlad's foot on his back. Not to mention the added burning from the man's ecto-blast still affecting his back. "Why don't you just…" He clenched his teeth when a surge of pain came through him, "Get yourself a cat?"

Vlad glared, this time bringing Danny to the ground once again by placing more weight on his foot, "I require a son," he argued, watching how the teen plummeted back to the ground. "You should accept your fate and save us both the time and trouble," he said, "Because mark my words, Daniel, I _will_ get what I _want_ ," he muttered darkly. He watched the teen with mild interest, curious to see what he would do, or what he would say to him.

Danny let out a frustrated sigh, "You think I don't _know_ that?" He whispered, though Vlad could hear it as clear as day. The older halfa's eyebrows raised, of all the things that the younger halfa would say, he wouldn't think that would be one. Usually the teen held his super hero morality above everything else. That there would always be a way out; that you always have a choice. He was completely surprised when the teen agreed with him. "I _know_ you always get what you want…" He whispered again, not wanting to say it loudly. He still had a small amount of pride residing in him.

"Then why stall?" Vlad asked, getting over his shock and wanting to know the teen's thought process.

"Because in chess, the winning player always gets cocky towards the end," Danny stated, pushing Vlad's foot off of him. Vlad had let him, of course, because he wanted to hear his answer. Vlad was more so amused by this childish thinking. So, he hadn't been broken as much as he would have liked. Yet, it was the beginning of the teen's downfall, the older halfa knew that.

Vlad let out a chuckle and shook his head, "You still think that you can get through this summer?" He asked, watching the teen stand up, holding the tree next to him for support. "By simply stalling me?" He asked, watching as Danny's gaze fell to the ground. "That's a fool's game you realize," he lectured, making Danny growl in frustration and start to walk away.

The older halfa watched as the teen went on his way, "You know how many games of chess I've actually _won_ , Vlad?" He asked, looking back at the man, not yet done with the conversation, "You think I'm stupid, but I at least know how to play."

"What say you to a game?" Vlad asked, walking over to the teen, watching how confusion spread across his face. "Aside from the one that we're currently playing, of course," he added a small smirk appearing on the man's face at the inside joke that they had. Danny didn't think it was funny and instead narrowed his eyes at him.

"No," Danny dryly answered, walking away from the man. They were walking alongside each other, and Vlad wore a smirk on his face still, "Unless you have something that can fix me that _doesn't_ make me join you," he stated, not believing that Vlad would willingly help him without any sort of payment in return.

Vlad chuckled, "Of _course_ I can help you, Daniel, would you like to play a game?" He asked, knowing that the teen would be drawn in by his nonchalant attitude. He wasn't disappointed when the teen eyed him wearily. "The usual if you lose, of course," he stated with a shrug of his shoulders, as if it wasn't that big of an issue that they were talking about.

Danny made a frown when they arrived at the diner, "I don't know," he muttered, not knowing if he should take the man's deal. He had been down this road before, but the constant nightmares for whatever reason that he kept having: they needed to stop. He needed some sleep, or he was going to go crazy. "Fine," he finally agreed when they got to the door.

"Excellent!" Vlad mused as he quickly opened up the door for the teen with a wicked smirk placed upon his face. Danny looked at the man before he looked unsure of himself. He couldn't stop thinking that it was a mistake to even play a game that Vlad was a master at. Still, he needed to go through with it. Vlad was a lot of things, but in the end he always held up to his end of the bargain. "What say you tonight?" He asked, knowing that the only person who could talk the teen out of it would be off to a party. Danny nodded stiffly before he walked through the door, wanting to already be far away from the man as possible. Vlad loved it when things began to turn into his favor, and he watched as the teen started to head to where their table was located at.

* * *

His dreams were all the same. Him waking up in a room that was up in Vlad's mansion. Instead of his usual clothes, he was dressed in what Vlad wanted him to wear. A nice dress shirt along with slacks, or something of that nature. Fortunately his hair was left the same, and for that he was grateful. He would awake in the bed that was five times too big for him with Vlad entering his room with a smirk on his face.

"What shall I take away from you today, son?" He asked, continuing from the last nightmare he had. The last one he had taken away his sister from him, and the one before that he had killed his father in front of him. Danny soon realized it was a dream and shook his head, refusing to indulge the nightmare in front of him.

"This isn't real…" Danny whispered, staring hard at Vlad, who started to practically prance into the room. The teen knew why he was in a chipper mood; the older halfa had won. "This is a dream. Wake up. Wake up…" He chanted to himself, covering his ears. It wasn't working, it would never work. He was stuck here, and he couldn't get himself to wake up and be free of this sick scenario.

Vlad chuckled pitifully at the teen's resistance, "Ah! I know!" Continuing on from what he had said earlier. Ignoring the teen that was currently in denial, "Samantha Manson," he said with a devious grin on his face. He watched as Danny's eyes widened at that, and he looked up at the older halfa.

The teen was at a loss for words and then panic spread across his face at an exponentially fast rate, "Vlad, please don't!" He pleaded, knowing that it wouldn't work. It had never worked in his last dreams, and he knew it wouldn't work now. "I'll do whatever you want! Please, just leave her and Tuck alone!" He begged, and Vlad smirked at him, filling the teen with absolute dread. The older hybrid walked over to the bed with calculative steps and was right in front of the teenager. He was staring him down, and Danny could do nothing but look into his soulless eyes.

"Don't worry, son, soon there will be nothing left holding you down to the name of _Fenton_ ," he stated, patting the frozen teen on his head. Danny grew angry at that, much like he always had in the previous dreams. Vlad then chose to turn around and started to walk out of the room. Danny aimed an arm at the retreating Vlad's head and fired away mercilessly. He only focused on his anger and hate of the older hybrid, and conjured his ghost powers on that. Before they could land, he heard a shriek.

"Danny!" Jazz screamed, almost getting blasted in the face as she quickly dodged away from the couch. Danny had decided to take a small nap on the couch, and he groggily looked around and realized he was no longer dreaming. "You almost hit me!" She lectured with a frown.

Danny sat up, still very much tired, "Sorry…" He apologized sincerely, though it came out bland and emotionless. He looked over at his sister to assess the damage, but found that she was fine. She was also dressed up to go to a party, and he rose his eyebrows at that, "Going somewhere?"

Jazz let out a sigh, "Yeah, the Mystery Shack," she stated, watching as pain flashed in Danny's eyes before he quickly glanced down at the ground. "Did you want to come with me?" She asked, making sure about her theory that Dipper had done something to her brother was accurate. He let out a glare and ran a hand through his hair.

"Have fun," he spat out, standing up from the couch and walking into the kitchen. He needed some kind of caffeine if he was going to survive the night with Vlad. True, he knew how to play chess, but that doesn't mean he knew how to play _well_. If he couldn't play good when he was fully awake, he could only imagine what it would be like if he was half asleep while playing the strategic game. Jazz glanced at her brother before letting out a determined breath. She walked over to the front door and exited the small wooden cabin.

"Ready to start, Daniel?" Vlad asked, appearing out of seemingly nowhere. Danny was opening up the fridge and found a soda before cracking it open. Vlad eyed the refreshment, but decided to not say anything about how unhealthy it was. Even if he did offer some tea to the younger hybrid, he knew for a fact that the stubborn boy wouldn't accept it. Especially since the trust between them was as temperamental as it was.

Danny took a couple of chugs from the drink and then looked the man in the eyes challengingly, "Sure," he responded back to him. Vlad led the way into a small room that was on the first floor. Danny wasn't too keen on exploring the cabin, so he didn't even know that there was a room down the hallway. He wasn't surprised when they walked into the room and found that a table had been set up with a chess set on it. "This doesn't faze me at this point," he whispered under his breath. Knowing how Vlad was always making chess analogies, he wasn't shocked to see it all set up inside a closed off room.

Vlad sat on one end of the table, and Danny did the same. Danny had the white set, and Vlad, respectively, had the black set. "Anytime you're ready," he said in a nonchalant voice as he eyed the sleep deprived boy in front of him. "After all, white goes first," he mentioned causally.

"Yeah, yeah," Danny mumbled in annoyance. He picked up a pawn and moved it two spaces on his first turn. "Is there ever going to be a day when you aren't so…" He trailed when he noticed Sam standing next to him. He knew it was because he couldn't sleep, but this was too real to him. He looked over at her, and she smiled gently back at him. He took his fingers off the pawn figure and placed his hands on the table.

"Hallucinations again, Daniel?" Vlad asked, himself moving the pawn in front of the rook. He looked smugly at the teen, who darted his attention on the man in front of him, "Seems as if you have a lot resting on this game," he commented, taking his hands off the piece.

Danny narrowed his eyes at him, "Either way, it's a win-win for you, right?" He snapped at him, looking down at the chess board. He bit his bottom lip in thought before taking out his knight. He hoped that dumb luck would win him this game.

Vlad chuckled at him, "Of course. I set it up that way," he stated with a small shrug as he took out one of his main pieces, that being the rook. Danny looked unimpressed at the man as he moved his knight once again. The teenager held no strategy and knew that this would not end well for him.

* * *

Jazz arrived outside to find the person she wanted to see selling tickets. Dipper Pines. She narrowed her eyes, stomping ever so menacingly towards the twelve year old boy. She was interrupted when she felt a small hand on her arm. A small hand with a strong grip. "Jazz!" Mabel's voice lit up when she found the teen in front of her.

"Huh? What?" Jazz asked, snapped out of her concentration suddenly. She looked down and noticed the small girl cladded in 80s clothing. "Mabel?" She asked before getting dragged inside the Mystery Shack. "Ooh, he got off the hook," Jazz mumbled to herself, narrowing her eyes at the vanishing boy from her sight, "For now," she promised darkly.

"We're going to dance off our pants!" Mabel yelled as she fist pounded in the air. When she started swaying her body back and forth, she glanced over at the teenager standing next to her. Her body slowly started to slow down, and she rose her eyebrows at the sight of the rigid teen. "Is something up?" She asked her friend.

Jazz, who was too busy glaring daggers outside the window to where Dipper was, looked over at Mabel with a sheepish smile. She placed her hand in the air and laughed nervously, "Who? What? Me?" She asked, not helping her case that she sounded extremely nervous about being caught already. "I'm fine!" She argued, placing her hand down by her side. Mabel cocked her head, her 80s outfit for the party hanging off her body loosely. "This is _some_ party!" Jazz commented as she looked around the room.

Mabel's eyes lighted up at that, "Isn't it just the _greatest_?!" She yelled out with a big smile. Jazz couldn't help but reacting to Mabel's smile with one of her own. It seemed the young girl's emotions were contagious. "Grunkle Stan told us we could have one!" She chided out, clapping her hands together enthusiastically. She looked back at Jazz and then her smile dropped, "You don't really like to dance too much, do you…?" She mumbled out. The girl was disappointed that her friend didn't have a shared interest in parties.

"I never really was," Jazz responded, patting down her long hair. It was her nervous tick whereas Danny's was to rub the back of his neck. Jazz couldn't help but think she instilled that behavior at a young age. She had that nervous tick since she was four, but then again, with embarrassing parents, you had to develop a nervous tick from somewhere. "Look, Mabel, there's two girls over there," Jazz said, directing her thumb to the back of the shack. A girl in green, and another girl in a pink shirt were standing in the corner and talking. "Why don't you greet them?" She asked with a small smile.

"Okay!" Mabel yelled, a friendly smile overcoming her features. After all, the child loved to make friends, and this party was an excellent chance for that to happen. Jazz watched as the girl ran to the corner, and the teenager let out a small sigh. It wasn't that she didn't like Mabel, it was just that their ages clashed too much. Not to mention, Jazz acted older than what she looked. She glanced around the room and her eyes accidentally landed on a tall teenager who was wearing a hood. He looked up at her, and she pulled away her eyes quickly.

The teen boy, however, took that as an invitation to come over. Jazz tensed, already hearing his footsteps approaching her and realized too late that she should have walked away. Why was she such a dunce to social cues? "How you doing?" The teen asked her with a flirtatious grin.

Jazz tried to hold in the scoff she was feeling, but it escaped from her throat, "I was doing okay, but then you came over and ruined my night," Jazz spat out, not having the time or patience to deal with hormonal teenagers when she needed to talk to Dipper. She needed to find out what happened to her brother, and why Dipper would say such a thing to hurt him as he did. "Excuse me," Jazz politely said through clenched teeth, trying to pull away from the conversation.

"The party just got started," the teen said to her again.

"Then go find some other tramp to trot," Jazz muttered out, and then let out a glare when the teen grabbed onto her wrist tightly. He wore a confused expression, and Jazz recognized that what she had was a more eighteenth century slang to 'GTFO'. She rolled her eyes and then decided that this teenager wasn't worth her patience. She was about to throw the teen over her shoulder, since she had the battle experience to do it, but another teenager's voice interrupted her thought process.

"Robbie, leave her alone," Wendy hissed out, stomping over to where the two of them were. Jazz looked up and found a red head approaching them. Robbie, the teenager who was holding her wrist, decided to let go. Jazz brought her hand up to her chest and glared over at the teen who had dared to touch a Ghost Hunter's daughter. "Sorry about that," Wendy said gently.

Jazz tried to let out a smile, although it turned more into a grimace, "It's fine," she said simply, deciding to walk over to the front of the Mystery Shack. It was then that she spotted Dipper on the stairs. When his eyes landed on her, and her eyes landed on him, he decided to sprint up the stairs. The young child almost tripped a few times as he did so, and Jazz was left astonished; if not a little offended. "Did he just…" She drawled out, trying to figure out what had just happened, " _Run_ from me?" She muttered, placing her hand on the hand railing. "He's definitely guilty," she decided, absolute conviction loomed in her tone. She narrowed her eyes, her lone mission in tracking down Dipper was already underway. She placed one foot on the step.

* * *

"Are you going to make a move?" Vlad asked, his legs crossed as his arms were laying on his chest. It had been at least ten minutes, and Danny wasn't too sure about what to do. He only had a few pieces left on the chess board, and he was definitely losing. When Vlad had let him take stupid pieces, Danny had fallen for the trap already seconds too late. He would move his knight to take a pawn, Vlad would move his rook to take his knight. All the teen had left was a king and a bishop. His hands were on the bishop, and he couldn't keep his eyes open any longer.

"Y-Yeah…" Danny trailed, looking down at the chess board. The bag under his eyes were growing worse, and he didn't know what else to do. The inevitable loss was hanging on his shoulders, and the end would come any second now. Had he truly been so sleep deprived that he had actually agreed to a chess match? With Vlad of all people? Letting out a shaky breath, Danny leaned back in his chair. He had run out of soda about an hour ago, and the teen was amazed that he had made it this far. From the look on Vlad's face while they were playing the game, the older halfa had thought so too. "Uh…" Danny trailed, looking at the chess board in confusion. The black and white colors of the chess pieces were beginning to lend together. "I just…" He whispered, placing his head in his hands.

Vlad let out a sigh of disappointment, and looked over at the sleep deprived teenager. He had a theory of why he was encountering such nightmares, but he didn't know the source. "You said the color gold," Vlad stated from out of the blue. Danny raised his head and looked up at the man with squinted eyes. He tried to focus on the man, and when the teenager blinked a few times his vision cleared. "From that time at the convenience store," he explained, catching up the teenager to his train of thought.

Danny let out a shrug, "What are you getting at?" He asked, knowing that the man never simply said things just to say them. There was always something more with his words, something that he was leading up to. The teen just wasn't in any mode to play the man's games today. It was then that it all clicked together, "You think that wherever I went, it messed with me?"

"Messed with you?" Vlad asked in a scoff. It was such a simple explanation that the teen had come up with. The man uncrossed his legs and arms, sitting up straight in his chair. "In a matter of speaking," he supplied, grinning at the teenager. Danny blinked a few times, waiting for the man to continue his thought process. When a minute passed, and Vlad supplied nothing else except his grin, the teen started to get frustrated. He narrowed his eyes at the older halfa.

"Are you going to tell me or…?" Danny trailed, and then Vlad let out a dark chuckle. The teen tensed at his answer, and he felt his face start to pale. Why on earth did he think that any answer from Vlad would come free? The only answers form Vlad would be the ones that he would willingly tell the teenager.

Vlad leaned onto the table, looking at the teen's tired and frightened face, "Perhaps if you win this game," he stated, already knowing that such an effort would be impossible from the teen. Danny knew this as well as he glanced down at the chess board and only seeing his two measly pieces. The teen could go on a tangent about how it wasn't fair, or that he was being set up for failure at every step. He knew that it was already too late for that. Danny decided that he might as well end his misery, and he gripped the bishop in his fingers. Looking at the possible things he could do, he saw that Vlad had a trap at every one of them. Every possible space he would lose his piece by one of Vlad's.

The older halfa saw how scared the teen was at losing the match. After all, if the teen lost he would willingly join him. He would have to do everything that he would say, that included being his son and apprentice. If things fell into his hands, then perhaps he wouldn't need to search for The Society of the Blind Eye. It wasn't as if he wanted to see the boy's obsession being broken twice within the very first week. That didn't mean that it wasn't desirable to see the teen being broken down in front of him. And who else would be left to pick up the pieces except for good old uncle Vlad? His family had been blind, all except Jazz, but it wouldn't be long before she soon would also join him.

Danny couldn't stop his shaking. He didn't want to join Vlad, but his idiotic agreement from earlier kept replaying in his head. He would never become this sleep deprived again. Although, he suspected that if he was living with Vlad from now on, the man would never let him have much freedom. That probably included his sleeping schedule. The teen was about to move into one of the spots, and Vlad's fingers twitched in anxious retaliation to take his piece. "I…Don't… _Want_ to join you," Danny whispered out, breaking the older halfa's concentration.

"I don't think you have a choice anymore," Vlad answered honestly. The teen was surprised when the man didn't hold a smirk or a grin on his face. Somehow, the teen would have liked it better than Vlad not having any expression at all. With Vlad being serious, it meant that he wasn't playing around anymore. Danny was shaking so much, that he started to feel sick. One last move, and he would be a bird in a cage. And he would never be let out again. "Finish it, Daniel," Vlad ordered, staring into the teen's eyes.

"I don't…" Danny whispered, his voice breaking up. His eyes were becoming even heavier, it was getting harder to stay awake. It then occurred to him that those dreams, although they might have been exaggerative, they wouldn't be dreams anymore. "No, no, no…" Danny stated, taking his fingers off his bishop, placing it back down to where he had picked it up.

Vlad narrowed his eyes, "Is this your stalling tactic again?" He asked, his voice not having a trace of amusement in it. "You did say I always got what I want, why are you trying to fight that now?"

Danny looked up at the halfa, "I-I just…" He whispered out, his eyes becoming clouded with the tears that were welling up in them. "I'm scared of what will happen."

"I've already told you, you will belong to me," Vlad stated, as if owning another person's life and possibly soul wasn't the worst thing in the world. Danny flinched at his tone, knowing that his fate was sealed. "Enough with your stalling, either surrender or make your final move," he hissed out, his eyes narrowing at the teenager again. Danny could tell he was becoming annoyed, and the teenager knew he was running out of stalling tactics. Deciding to go out on one last heroic effort, he stared the Devil in the face as he picked up the bishop once again. Vlad stared into his eyes and he saw the final look of defiance within those orbs of his. The last fire that the hero had left, and Vlad let out a smirk. And he would be the one to crush that fire and make sure that it would never spark again. Vlad would make sure of it.

"What are the two of you doing?" Jack's voice boomed into the room as he opened the door. Vlad's smirk dropped immediately, and Danny had let out a jump of surprise when the voice had suddenly appeared. The teenager lost his concentration and dropped the piece onto the board.

Danny's eyes widened, being so sleep deprived that he didn't know if it was the king or the bishop that he had picked up. His heart was thumping so loud that he could feel it throughout his body. He looked down at the chess board and let out a breath of relief that it wasn't the king. If it were, then he would already be Vlad's. He leaned back into his chair and looked up at his enormous father who was walking over to his chair, "Hey, dad," he greeted tiredly.

Jack's face turned into a smile, "Playing a nice friendly game of chess?" He asked, looking down at the board rather than the players. If the fat man had decided to look at the players, he would have found that the two of them were staring into each other's eyes. There was nothing nice, or friendly about this game of chess. Vlad then narrowed his eyes at the teenager before looking up at the man with a small gently smile on his face. "Wait a sec…" Jack trailed, looking over at his son, "Aren't you supposed to be in bed resting?"

"He couldn't sleep," Vlad supplied the answer before Danny could even open up his mouth to explain what was going on. The older hybrid glanced at the younger, a gaze that told him to be quiet if he didn't want Jack to die right here and now. Danny complied, looking down at the ground instead. "Since I was up, I offered him a game of chess."

"Always looking out for Danny-O! Thanks, Vladdie!" Jack mused with a grin, not reading the atmosphere in the room at all. Danny dared to look up and found the gaze of Vlad Masters upon him. The man was staring at the teen with a mixture of amusement and fondness. "Oh! Danny, you seem to be in a bit of a stump!" Jack stated, making Danny suddenly look up at his father.

Danny raised his hands up to his chest, "Uh, yeah, I was going to lose," he explained, watching how Vlad glanced over at Jack again. "I was just going to surrender-!" Danny stated, placing his hand over on top of the king. He knew that he wasn't going to win anyways, and that Vlad had everything he wanted. His finger danced on the pointed tip of the king, but before he could flick it, Jack practically pushed his son out of the seat.

The teenager barely caught himself before he fell to the floor. In his place, his dad had chosen to sit at the chair. Danny's eyes grew wide, what did his father think he was doing? Jack cracked his fingers, and Vlad rose an eyebrow, no doubt thinking the same thing as the teenager. "It's been a long time since we've played, eh, Vladdie?" He asked rhetorically, looking down at the fallen bishop. "Danny, where was this at?" He asked, pointing his index finger to the fallen chess piece.

"Um…" Danny trailed out, his voice almost hitched in his throat, "Right there," he instructed, placing his finger to where the clear space was. Jack nodded, redirecting the piece to its proper place. "Dad, what are you doing?" He asked in a hushed whisper, already knowing the answer.

"I'm going to finish this game for you, son!" Jack stated, sticking his tongue out of the corner of his mouth. He focused on where he should move, finding his chess tactic rusty from years of neglect. He only usually played checkers with Maddie, and Maddie was killer at checkers. Danny's eyes widened at that, how was his dad going to win when he couldn't? Besides that, his father literally had his life in his hands at this moment. Jack pulled something that Danny hadn't seen coming. Instead of moving all the way into where Vlad had wanted him to go, he stopped halfway. "Your turn, V-Man," Jack boomed, grinning at his adversary.

Vlad narrowed his eyes at this, picking up his queen. He had used a tactic that would definitely work against Daniel, but now Jack was playing the game. He couldn't remember the last time he had played against Jack, Vlad was sure that he had won all the times they've played, but he had blocked out all of their happy memories together. He wasn't sure on how to take down the fat oaf anymore.

It was Jack's turn, and Danny couldn't stop his mild trembling of his body. His anxiety was building up, could his father win against Vlad? The older hybrid watched as Jack took his queen, and it was at that moment when the business man realized that Jack was something he wasn't used to; a wild card. Vlad let out a small chuckle at that, looking up at Jack. The memories started to resurface. Truth be told, back in their college days, Vlad had only won against Jack once. And that was when Jack was completely drunk. Vlad moved his bishop, and Jack realized that he was going after his king. It was silent for a few more turns, each one in deep focus. Danny could only watch in awe at how well his father was playing, and he couldn't help but think that his father was awesome at that given moment.

A few more turns came after that, and then Vlad placed his fingers on his king and knocked it onto its side, "You win, Jack," he answered grimly. Danny didn't think it was possible that Vlad had lost to his father. He didn't think it was possible that Vlad had lost at all. Jack let out a chuckle, standing up from his chair and walked over to the door.

"Chess is fun!" Jack said in a happy voice, opening up the door before closing it behind him. From the moment the door had closed, the teenager felt that he was being watched. A deafening silence was in the room, and Danny slowly looked over at Vlad. The teen knew he felt uncomfortable, and Vlad's glaring at him proved it wasn't his imagination.

"It's always so close, isn't it?" Vlad asked, standing up from his chair. As soon as he did, Danny let out a flinch and decided to stand against the wall for support. "You almost joining me, but just before you do, _someone_ comes in to save you," he muttered, spitting out each word as violently as possible. The man placed his hands behind his back and started to walk towards the teen.

Danny's breathing became frantic, and soon he saw Plasmius before him instead of human Vlad. The teen blinked for a second, wondering if it was his imagination or his sleep depravedness. The next second when he opened them, he found an ecto-blast in his stomach. This Plasmius was very much real and hurting him. The teen couldn't breathe, and he placed his hands on his stomach to find a glowing fist still there. "V-Vlad…" He said in a raspy tone.

Plasmius wouldn't let him say anything else and he grabbed onto his shirt and launched him across the room. The teen slid on the table where the chess board was at, knocking the pieces off the board and making them fly around the room. Danny landed harshly on the ground, already heaving Vlad's ecto-blast on his back from earlier, and now with his back hitting the ground…they didn't mix well together. He let out a hiss of pain, raising his head to where the half ghost was. "Perhaps I do need to look for that legend after all…" Vlad trailed, looking over at Danny. Before the teenager could say anything else, Vlad had teleported in front of him, clenching his shirt in his hand before raising the boy into the air. "Willingly joining me would have been much more amusing, but now I'm running out of patience."

"What…?" Danny tried to ask, but Vlad slammed him into the wall. His back took the brunt of the force, and the teen clenched his eyes in pain. His super healing would have worked rather well in this situation. That is, if his powers were within his reach. He opened his eyes back up and stared into Plasmius' red eyes. "Vlad…Hurts…" He struggled to say, but Vlad seemed to know that he was hurting the teen. Danny let out a grunt of pain as Vlad slammed his back into the wall once again. Black stars started to appear in his vision from the unbelievable pain he was experiencing.

"I know it hurts, Daniel," Vlad hissed out at the teenager, "Why don't you just pass out already, hmm?" He asked, lifting up his hand as it lit up pink. The teen couldn't do much of anything do get away from the older halfa. All he could do was endure the pain and let Vlad do what he wanted to him. Danny stared into his eyes once again, hoping to find something in there. Maybe concern or regret, or something that wasn't evil. He didn't have to look long, since there was nothing in them except obsession. Danny's form slumped, no longer trying to defend himself from the psychotic older hybrid. He had given up on fighting, and Vlad seemed to enjoy seeing the teen so submissive. "Good," Vlad praised before firing his blast.

All Danny felt was a surging pain in his side, and then…Nothing.

* * *

"Dipper, where are you?" Jazz called out in a sickingly sweet tone. She had been chasing this damn boy all over the cabin for the last two hours. When she turned around, she saw one Dipper. She started to chase after him. Then, another Dipper would run in another direction. She was passed the point of being nice and understanding. She was out for revenge, and revenge she would have.

She started to pass a corner on the upstairs level, and ran right into a screaming Dipper. They collided with each other and both fell to the ground. Dipper's checklist went flying into the air, and Danny's picture from earlier in the day also went flying into the air. Jazz caught Dipper's paper, whereas the child caught hers. "What…?" Jazz began to ask, but upon closer examination of the paper she had a frown on her face. This was how to get a girl, and not just any girl, but Wendy.

Dipper's eyes widened when he saw that Jazz was holding his paper. It was then that his eyes fully landed on the artwork. He furrowed his eyebrows and looked at it closely. He recognized those symbols from the journal. "I know these," he whispered out. Heavy footsteps came from behind the two of them, and Jazz looked up just in time to see an army of Dippers heading towards them. She glanced down at the real Dipper with an accusatory stare. "No time to explain!" He yelled, quickly standing up, gripping the artwork tightly.

"Stupid Gravity Falls," Jazz cursed under her breath, but she followed Dipper's lead and followed him. They were running through hallways and secret passages that Jazz didn't know were physically possible. They went into a room that was upside down, and she wondered who designed this building to begin with. Dipper quickly skidded on his feet and ran into the gift shop. When Jazz made it into the room, the child quickly slammed the door shut behind him.

"The roof!" Dipper yelled, suddenly remembering that they had an entrance to one of those. Jazz looked at the door, and then heard paper's being slammed against the door. It wasn't long after that when she saw a paper Dipper trying to wedge himself through the crack that was underneath the door. The teen girl's eyes widened in shock but decided that there was not time to explain her thoughts on the subject. Dipper quickly pulled back the curtain and offered Jazz to go up first.

When the girl managed to make it up to the roof, she saw that the sun was almost coming up. If she was younger, her parents would kill her for staying out so late. She hadn't gone to sleep at all this night, and had stayed awake until the next day. Here she thought Danny had sleeping problems. Dipper closed the hatch behind him and took a few steps back. His eyes never left the exit and after a few passing seconds, there was absolute silence. "I think-!" Dipper began to say, but soon enough there was one paper Dipper that had made it up to the roof. It slammed the hatch open, making both Jazz and Dipper jump at the violent noise.

"Admit it! You hurt the only friend that you have at this stupid place!" Paper Dipper screeched at him. Dipper tensed up at the accusation, but he also knew it was true. "He told you his weakness, and you completely killed him! Oh man, and you thought you were the smart one!" He ranted.

"Jazz, I-!" Dipper began to explain, knowing that he had been caught about it. Jazz placed a hand up telling him to keep quiet. "You already knew, didn't you?" Dipper asked dryly, and the teen girl let out a sigh and nodded her head. Dipper looked over at his paper duplicate with a frown, "I know I've hurt him! That's why I'm trying to fix things!"

Paper Dipper let out a chuckle, "Oh, yeah, I know all about how you sent those two other copies in search of that thermos," he stated with a shrug of his shoulders, "Like they'd actually be able to handle that," he added nonchalantly.

Dipper didn't comment and instead felt a trickle of rain hit his face. He looked up at the sky and found that there was a small morning shower. "Yeah? Well, I don't need you to remind me of all my flaws," he hissed out, with a smirk on his face, "If you see Tyrone on the other side, make sure to give him a warm greeting from me."

"What?" Paper Dipper asked, and that was when there was a sizzling noise. Jazz looked over at the clone with wide eyes. He was melting, and Jazz could only stare at his shrinking form. "Wendy will never like someone like you, and you'll never have any friends!" Paper Dipper yelled out, reverting back to his paper like state. "Someone as nerdy and reclusive like you will never be liked by anyone!" The Paper Dipper shrieked his last words as the paper rolled off the roof.

Dipper let out a sigh of relief and collapsed on the roof. It had been a long night, battling with his own demons. The matter about Wendy. The effects on what he had done to Danny. He felt terrible, and he was so tired. Jazz decided to sit down by him, not letting the small trickle of rain bother her. "Didn't you come here to yell at me?" Dipper asked in a sullen tone.

Jazz shook her head slowly, "I think your evil twin already did that for you," she stated with a kind expression as she turned to where the child was. Not even Dipper, for what he had done to her brother, deserved such cruel statements about him. "Besides, I came here for answers," she said, making Dipper's eyes widen.

"Answers?" Dipper asked, making Jazz dig into her pockets for where she had stored Dipper's paper. It was his Wendy checklist, and he felt his face flush in embarrassment. He was about to ask if she had read it, but at this point, he was okay if she had. Jazz would never judge him for anything, and neither would Danny. It was then that he realized that he held Jazz's paper in his pocket, and he slowly took it out. He looked down at the swirls and found a few symbols that he recognized. "Right," he answered, digging in his jacket and finding the large book. He brought it out and turned to a page where a triangle shadow was.

"What is that?" Jazz asked, inching her head closer to where the book was. It was in some sort of code, and she couldn't understand the symbols that were on the top of the page.

Dipper looked up into her worried eyes, "It's what you came here for," he answered, looking back onto the page of the book, "Do not summon at all costs," he read from the book, already deciphering the code as if it were second nature for him. "I'm guessing this is Danny's, right?" He asked referring to the picture that he was holding, and Jazz gave a small nod. "His name is Bill Cipher," Dipper explained, looking down at the page, "And I think he is the one tormenting Danny."

Jazz blinked, digesting the information slowly, "What exactly is he?" She asked, not understanding why this creature would be plaguing her brother to the extent that he wouldn't be sleeping.

"A dream demon," Dipper responded with wide, worried eyes.

* * *

Danny was surprised when there wasn't anything that he was dreaming. Vlad had just knocked him out, and he didn't appear in that room in Wisconsin. He was nowhere close to Vlad, and instead there was just a black and white outline of Amity Park. Relief rushed over him, and he laid on the sidewalk that was directly outside of his home. "No Vlad…" He whispered out with a small victorious smile.

" **But there is me**!" Came a voice that Danny knew he recognized from somewhere. The teen looked around and found that there was a floating yellow triangle with one eye. Danny immediately stood up, now cautious of this new entity. " **The name's Bill**! **Bill Cipher**!" The triangle introduced with a twirl of his staff.

"You're from the convenience store!" Danny accused with a glare, charging up an ecto-blast to fire at the triangle. Bill rolled his eyes and in a gold flash, Danny held a small lollipop in his hand. All trace of his ghost powers were gone, and he quickly dropped the candy from his hands. The teen wasn't surprised that things weren't going his way. Most things in life were not.

Bill floated up to the teenager with a chuckle, " **I have to thank ya** , **kid**! **You gave me enough fear from nightmares that I can wander around Gravity Falls freely now**!" He boasted, making Danny glared at the creature in front of him. It was true, this Bill Cipher was causing him all of these nightmares with Vlad winning. " **Your fear is so addicting**! **I kind of want to stay a little longer** , **just to see you suffer**! **Hah**!"

Danny let out a growl and narrowed his eyes, "How about you get out of my head?" He offered, the dangerous tone was enough for Bill to float a few inches back. Ghosts were dangerous, Bill knew, and if he wasn't careful with this situation, he could easily kill him right where he was. "You were never invited in here to begin with."

" **Relax** , **kiddo**!" Bill yelled, clapping his hands together. Soon, the black and white Amity Park held color to it. " **Don't you remember the time where I helped you save your fat father**?!" He asked rhetorically. Danny continued to narrow his eyes at the creature before he lifted them up and blinked his eyes.

" _That_ was _you_?" The young halfa asked with a raised eyebrow, "Why help me?"

Bill chuckled, his laughter echoing off of the buildings, " **Because I** _ **like**_ **you**!" He responded, " **You interest me** ; **both of you**."

Danny picked up on that in seconds, "Vlad and I?" He asked suspiciously, "Why?"

" **You walk a thin line between death and life**! **How could I not**?!" Bill asked with a roll of his eye, " **You really resent him** , **don't you**?! **The other one**!"

"He's only trying to kill my dad and make me his son…" Danny trailed, shaking his head at the obvious answer, "That definitely might make me hate him," he answered honestly.

Bill let out a cackle, " **You remind me of myself a few thousand centuries ago**! **I really look forward to seeing you crushed**!" Bill added, making Danny growl, his hand filling up with ecto-energy. He blasted it mercilessly at the creature, and Bill had to teleport a few feet away to avoid getting him, " **Well** , **you know that he'll get what he wants eventually**. **MAKE SURE NOT TO TURN A BLIND EYE** ," Bill added as his voice turned serious, winking at Danny before he left. Or, at least that's what Danny think he did. Bill only had one eye to begin with.

After the creature had left, Danny had woken up. The last words that the thing had said to him really seemed to be nailed into his head. He looked over to Jazz's bed and found that she was just getting into it. She turned and faced the wall and away from him. "Make sure not to turn a blind eye…?" Danny asked, knowing that it was a hint but not knowing how it was one. He looked out the window and found that the sun was coming up. For the first time in a few days, he felt well rested and ready to tackle the day's events.

 **To be continued...**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: And here we go. Damn Daniel, back at it again with being tortured in my story. Haha, sorry about that, kid, but sometimes we all have to go through horrible events.**

 **Also, any grammar mistakes that you might find…I'm only human. And I bleed when I fall down, okay?**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own anything, my dude.**

 **Undisclosed Summer**

* * *

And by well rested, that did not mean that he was ready to go out into the town to do a weird heritage event. Jazz sat at the kitchen table with her elbow propped up to hold her head. She hadn't had a wink of sleep, and maybe at the most she had was a half hour. She wanted to stay home – but the excited look on her mother and father's face definitely meant that was not what she was going to do.

Not if they had anything to say about it.

Vlad was sipping on a cup of tea, and Danny was glaring at the older halfa. After that chess game last night, the teen knew that the older man had something up his sleeve. Or, he was angry about losing and would retaliate.

But the man was nonchalantly sipping his tea and was putting on the façade that he wasn't a villain waiting to make his move. And now that he was upset, that meant the angry Vlad was dangerous. Danny knew that from experience.

Jazz, Maddie, and Jack excused themselves from the table to get ready for the days event. Vlad took another sip of his tea before sitting it down on the wooden table. He then looked at the teenager, who didn't break his gaze away even under the scrutinizing glance of the older halfa.

"You've been glaring at me all morning, little badger…" Vlad trailed, leaning closer in his seat as he placed his arms on the table. "Is something on your mind?"

"That depends, you feel like telling me what your evil plan is?" Danny asked, and Vlad simply stared at him for a few seconds at his outward bluntness. The man then let out a chuckle before leaning back in his chair. "I'll take that as a no," Danny muttered before leaning back in his chair as well with his arms crossed. "Not very surprising."

Vlad slowly stood up and grabbed his coffee cup that contained his herbal tea inside of it. "You shouldn't pout, Daniel, it's not very becoming of you," he responded, walking over to the kitchen sink to dump the contents of his morning tea down the drain. "Instead of trying to figure out my plan, shouldn't you be more concerned about your father?"

Danny stood up with a suspicious glare placed on his face. "What?" He demanded angrily, "Another day, another chance to take out my dad?" He asked scathingly, his hands clenching into fists by his sides. Vlad turned around and leaned on the counter while crossing his arms snugly across his chest.

"It keeps you occupied," Vlad answered, and he watched how Danny's eyes lit up a venomous neon green for a few seconds before going back to their normal blue hue.

"It's fine," Danny chided, unclenching his hands slowly, controlling his emotions with a little effort. Vlad always found a way under his skin, and didn't matter how many times he tried to control his anger. Vlad would always evoke it and then the young halfa would stop thinking with his head and instead would use his fists.

And that was when he would lose.

"I already know a little of what you're up to," Danny mumbled, turning around when he heard the doors to the upper floor close due to his enhanced hearing. His family members were coming down and were ready to leave. And Danny had no qualms about getting away from Vlad from a few hours - even if it meant wasting his day learning about history in a town that he could care less about.

"Oh?" Vlad asked, curious to see what the young halfa knew about his plans, "Do tell," he implored the teenager to divulge all that he understood.

The teen never intended for it to be that easy.

Danny gave him a smirk and a shrug, "Why? It'll keep you _occupied_ ," he copied the older halfa's words from earlier. He expected the man to become angry – to blow up like he had only a few minutes previously. Instead, Vlad smirked and gave a knowing nod.

"See, you _are_ learning something this summer," Vlad muttered, walking pass the younger hybrid who was frozen in place. When the teen heard Vlad's door close to the man's bedroom, his eyes went wide when he finally came to terms with what Vlad had said.

Instead of doing the opposite of what Vlad had wanted him to say, he had done and said _exactly_ what he wanted to hear. And he hadn't meant to do that. He was learning some bad habits by being this close to Vlad and spending this much time with him – albeit being coerced into this situation unwillingly.

His hand brushed through his hair – which was starting to become sweaty at this realization. He was nothing _like_ Vlad – there was no way that he was turning into him. His sister yawned into her hand loudly before walking over to her younger brother as she descended the stairs.

"What's wrong?" She asked, her sleepy stupor disappearing when she found that her brother was scared beyond belief. "You're as pale as a ghost…" She trailed, not trying to be witty or make a pun from her response.

"Nothing," Danny answered curtly before looking over to where Vlad disappeared to. "It's nothing," he reaffirmed, making his sister nod unsurely in a slow manner. "Are we uh, are we ready to go?" He asked, walking over to the front door.

Jazz looked at her brother and sighed.

He still wasn't telling her what was going on between him and Vlad.

* * *

Danny walked over to the Museum of History with his sister, who was barely walking in a straight line beside him. He looked over at her with a raised eyebrow in concern, "Are you going to be okay?" He asked, and she gave a sleepy thumbs up in response.

He let out a small smile before leading her up the steps of the museum, "Don't worry, we're going to the best place to get a nap."

"Not funny…" Jazz mumbled, and the young teen rolled his eyes before receiving the two guest passes from the woman dressed in a bonnet and dress. He guided his sister to a nearby table where her head slowly hit the table with her arm cushioning it.

Danny took a seat and looked at all the books that adorned the shelves of the museum. It was almost as if he were in a library more so than a museum. But with a town like Gravity Falls, he doubted that there was a lot of artifacts that were collected. This was probably the best that they could manage and most likely combined the library and museum together.

He lowered his head onto the table for only a moment. Closing his eyes, he tried to figure out what he could possibly do in the museum. Briefly thinking about looking for a book related to any kind of 'blind eye' that Bill told him about before.

Opening up his eyes, the teenager stood up and walked over to a book before opening it up slowly. Dust and a musty smell escaped from some of the pages, and the teen couldn't help but cough a little as the foreign substance filled his lungs. He grabbed a handful of the pages before turning through them, not even looking at what they said.

He felt as if something was watching him, and he quickly turned around and saw that the entire museum had faded into a black space. He narrowed his eyes and turned to the bookcase where he was currently at and found that it had disappeared into nothing.

Curious, he still felt a weight in his hands where the book was and looked down. Instead of a book, he found a familiar glowing yellow triangle in his hands instead. Startled, he dropped the triangle and took a step back with a yelp.

He didn't fall asleep – but he did close his eyes back at the table. That was enough for Bill to get into his dreams?

Instead of the dream demon falling down into the darkness, it instead stayed afloat in front of him and crossed its legs almost seductively. " **Heya kid**! **Miss me**?!" Bill asked, his lone eye seemed to glint with glee.

"No," Danny answered dryly before turning on his heels and walking away.

" **No need to give me the cold shoulder**!" Bill complained, and before he knew what was happening, Danny turned to look at the triangle with his blue eyes glowing a lighter color of azure. " **Metaphorically**! **You don't need to give me any favors**!" Bill added in a hurried rush.

The teen rolled his eyes, letting his ice powers. After all, if the demon wanted a taste of ice, then the young halfa knew how to do exactly that. "Why are you here, Bill?" Danny asked in annoyance, and Bill crossed his arms.

" **I told you before** : **I like you**!"

"Can't say the feelings are mutual…" Danny muttered, turning away from the demon again.

Bill teleported in front of him, " **Okay** , **alright** , **so I** _ **might**_ **have caused you a few mentally scarring nightmares** , **but what's a little** _ **screaming**_ **between besties** , **right**?!"

Danny looked at him and crossed his arms impatiently. "Are you going to get to the point, or are you just going to float there?"

" **Why haven't you looked for the BLIND EYE that I told you about**?!" Bill asked, with a disappointed tone, " **It's not often that I help anyone** , **you know**!"

"I don't know where to look, or even _what_ you're talking about," Danny confessed honestly, and Bill let out a growl of annoyance. Danny gave him a steady glare, and Bill then placed his hands in front of him. "I see we _both_ need to work on our anger management skills."

Bill brought out a cane out of the air and began twirling it, " **Forget about it**! **But just know that this is the second time that I've helped you**! **Remember that**!"

Danny opened his mouth to ask what he was going on about, but found that the darkness was receding back to where it had come from, and that the bookshelves had begun to appear once again. The museum was back to normal, and the young halfa looked around. He wasn't standing by the table that his sister was currently resting at, and instead was on the third level of the museum.

He looked around and found that he had various bruises and scrapes along his body that were just starting to heal. Looking over at the bookcase that he was standing at, he found a book covered in cloth. He wondered how he had gotten up there, but he didn't need to dwell long on _how_ so much as _who_.

Taking the book wrapped in cloth in his hands, he began to unwrap it a small amount before a symbol appeared on the cover of the book. It looked eerily like an eye, and just as he was about to unwrap the rest of it, he heard a familiar voice.

"Mabel!" Yelled Dipper, and Danny immediately froze at that voice. The last time that Danny had seen Dipper, they hadn't left on good terms. In fact, the boy had unintentionally broken his obsession, and that hurt worse than the younger halfa would have liked to admit.

He leaned over and caught a glimpse of the young twins running around the first floor of the museum. He let out a long sigh and covered up the book before heading over to where the ladder was. He turned intangible and floated down to the first level of the museum.

Just as he turned tangible, Mabel ran over to him with excitement in her eyes. "See? Is my guy sensor ever off?" She boasted, looking over her shoulder towards her brother before embracing the lower half to Danny's legs with her arms. "I missed you, stranger!"

"You're only saying that because you saw Jazz sleeping here," Dipper complained before looking over at the younger halfa. Danny looked down at Dipper before looking away with an awkwardly raised eyebrow. "Danny…" Dipper trailed, rubbing the back of neck nervously.

"I forgive you," Danny stated before patting Mabel's back as she let go of him. Dipper's eyes widened, and he opened his mouth to say something else. "Besides, I can tell that you're sorry."

Dipper nodded his head, "I really am," he added shyly. Danny walked over to the male twin before patting his head, "Hey!" Dipper argued, flinging his arms in the air.

Danny let out a chuckle at the kid's response, "I would love to stay and chat, but I'm on a 'my arch enemy has a horrible plan to ruin my life' clock, and I need to stop him before he does anything else," he muttered, walking over to where his table was.

"Tell me what I can do and I-!" Dipper started to say but stopped when Danny stood dangerously still. At first, the child thought that it was him, that one of his best friends was still overly furious at him. But, when he looked in front of him, he found Vlad Masters talking to the woman at the front of the door.

As soon as Vlad looked over at them, Danny placed his body so it was protecting the children behind him. The older halfa waved and smiled gently at the woman before walking over to the teen. "Doing some light reading, Daniel?" He asked, looking over at the book with a tilted head.

"What, is reading a crime now?" Danny questioned, his hand with the book lowering towards Dipper. The kid looked in front of him and Danny was wagging the book ever so slightly. Dipper's eyes widened and he quickly took the book and placed it in his backpack that he was carrying without Vlad noticing.

"It is when it could possibly mess up what I have planned," Vlad stated, walking closer to the teen to see what he had. "Ah, smart boy," Vlad complimented when he looked behind Danny and found that his hand was empty.

Vlad looked accusingly over at Dipper and found that his sister was beside him. Danny shifted his weight so Vlad was looking at him instead. "If you hurt them…" He trailed, and Vlad placed a hand up to silence the teen's heroic rant.

"I am above hurting children at the moment," Vlad answered honestly, placing both his hands behind his back. "Enjoy your time at the event," he added before walking away but stopped a few feet away. "Although, I'm surprised you left your father _unprotected_ …"

"It's a crowded place – you won't do anything," Danny said, making the older halfa look back at him.

Vlad smirked, "Is that a challenge?" He asked, and the teen stiffened.

Danny had risked taking a chance to look for any clues as to what Vlad was planning instead of looking after his father. He was starting to run out of time, and he needed to play offensive instead of defensive. "You're right, Daniel, I will not do anything in a crowded place," Vlad agreed before walking over to the front desk of the museum. But before he left, he turned to the teen and the children behind him. "Too many witnesses."

And then he was gone as he stepped outside of the doors.

Danny let out a long sigh of relief, and could finally relax. His guard was down now, and his hands had started to tremble. He wasn't sure if he would be quick enough to protect Dipper and Mabel should Vlad have attacked them.

Clenching his hands, he turned around to see the children and he placed his hand back out. Dipper nodded and took back out the book that was wrapped in a strange cloth material. Placing it in the teen's hand, Danny took it and headed back towards his table where he had left Jazz.

His stomach dropped when he found that she was gone.

Dipper and Mabel both looked around the museum and found that she had disappeared. "Jazz was just here! We just saw her when we came in!" Mabel yelled, and she looked up at Danny with concerned eyes. "You don't think…?"

"Plasmius…" Danny hissed out, and the final words of what Vlad had said echoed within his mind.

 _Too many witnesses_

"Always one step in front of me…" Danny muttered, and shook his head. Vlad would never just come to a place for nothing. The older halfa wanted the book; that much was obvious, and Danny wanted his sister back.

It wasn't a fair trade.

But it _was_ the morally correct one.

And just when the teen thought he was evening out the playing field. Anything that Vlad could use he would, and since the children were under his protection at that moment, his sister was left wide open and vulnerable.

"Danny?" Dipper asked, and the teen turned to look at him with a small smile.

"Don't worry about me. I'll see you later, okay?" He asked, not looking back at them before turning intangible in front of them. He flew as fast as he could to the most secluded place that he could think of. Mabel placed a hand out, but didn't feel anything. She looked at her twin and Dipper nodded.

"He said not to worry, and I'm going to trust him," Dipper muttered, walking out of the museum.

Mabel stood in the library with wide eyes, "Wait, what?!" She yelled, running after her twin, "Since when was Danny an invisible wizard!"

"Mabel -!" Dipper yelled and then shook his head. He forgot that Mabel had never known Danny's secret. "We have a scavenger hunt to finish, right?" He switched topics, hurrying his pace away from his twin.

"We're not done here!" Mabel argued, running to catch up to her brother.

* * *

Danny landed in the forest that was a little ways away from the cabin. Based from his small training from Sam and Tucker before he left, he was able to track a ghost's ecto-signature. It was new and he couldn't control it at times, but in this instance he was particularly glad that he had tried to train his ghost sense to find Vlad.

"I thought you said you were _above_ hurting children?" Danny asked, stepping into the forest all the while pushing some low tree branches to the side impatiently.

"Ah, but I did say at the _moment_ , did I not?" Vlad asked when the young halfa stepped out into the forest. "Glad you could join us, Daniel."

Danny stood in front of the older halfa while trying to remain his composure. His unbridled emotions were threatening viciously to show themselves. Anger and rage were the most proficient of them at the moment.

It was the fact that Vlad had still been spying on him even after everything that had went down. That Vlad had known that he would be able to follow his ecto-signature no problem had he truly concentrated. It unnerved the young halfa and made him angrier than it should have.

Maybe it was because Vlad had seen his struggles over the past weeks before heading out to Gravity Falls. How much that he was getting flustered and annoyed that he couldn't track any ghosts. That Vlad could have been able to help him – but the older halfa was contempt to watch the younger halfa fail over and over and over again.

"A little late to the party, however. Then again, I suppose I should have made it easier for you to track," Vlad commented, stepping away from his unyielding position. Danny opened his mouth and was about to say something, but immediately slammed it shut. Jazz was laying on a rock, unconscious and defenseless to any attack that Vlad sent her way.

Danny looked over at the man with a glare, "You _slimy_ -!"

Vlad raised his index finger in the air and waved it side to side in a lecturing manner. Danny let out a growl but tried to simmer down in compliance to what Vlad was telling him to do. He didn't have a choice, one wrong thing could set Vlad off, and the older halfa could and would hurt his sister.

Once again, he was at the man's mercy.

"That get together at the shack really tired the poor girl out," Vlad explained, placing his hands behind his back. Danny watched his every movement with close precision. If the older halfa tried to do anything to his sister, then he would be there to stop him.

"You should really take better care of the things that I can use as leverage against you. Their location, their physical condition…" He listed, making a valid threat that made the teenager start to visibly pale. Everyone in this town was leverage against him. His family and the Pines were the most obvious choices. And Vlad knew that Danny would sacrifice himself to save anyone due to his hero mentality.

But Danny couldn't help this obsession to protect – it was who he was. It's who he always will be, and Vlad would utilize every chance to use his weakness against him.

"Let me guess, you want the book for my sister's safety?" Danny asked, almost sarcastically. Vlad was predictable, but Danny was even more so predictable. The teen knew exactly how this exchange would go down, and he could do nothing to stop it.

"That's the second time you've impressed me today, Daniel," Vlad boasted, "Perhaps you're learning – or perhaps it could be that you know that I'll get what I want at the end of the day…" He trailed, looking over at the teenager with a knowing smirk, "And there's _nothing_ that you can do to stop me."

Danny let out a growl and raised his hand up before making a claw and lowering it slightly. A green ecto-blast appeared in his hand, and he couldn't stop the overflowing energy that escaped from the condensed ball of ecto-plasm.

Vlad shook his head, "Temper, temper…" He lectured, waving his hand in the air before five Plasmius duplicates appeared around his sister in a circle. Danny couldn't help but lower his arm as the prepped blast faded into nothing. "The book, if you will," he ushered, outstretching his hand toward the teen.

" _Fine_ ," the young halfa spat back, reaching behind his back to pull out the book. The cloth was still around it and the teen couldn't help but feel as if he had been used. Vlad would know exactly where he was at all times, and the only thing that Danny had succeeded in today was being Vlad's pawn once again.

Even if it _was_ unknowingly.

With a steady advance towards the older halfa, Danny couldn't help but feel as if he were submitting to him. In a way, he was, he was giving Vlad what he wanted. With each and every step he took, he could practically feel time slow down.

And when he took another step, he found that it took him some effort to place his foot on the ground. He looked around that he was the only one moving around. Quickly darting his head over to where Vlad was, he found that the older halfa was still frozen in the same position.

"Clockwork?" He asked, looking around the area.

He waited for a few seconds before growing fearful. Why hadn't the ancient ghost made himself known that he was there? The only ghost that he had known that could manipulate time was Clockwork himself.

"Clockwork…?" He asked again, but just as he was about to walk around, a hand latched onto his. Fearfully turning his head, he found that Vlad was looking at him with narrowed eyes. Time had begun moving once again.

"What are you doing, Daniel?" He asked, tightening his grip against the young halfa's arm.

"Ouch!" Danny complained, trying to move his arm away from him, but found that it wasn't any use. "Vlad, stop!" He yelled, and just before he was about to use his other hand to pry Vlad's away, the man snatched the book away from the teenager.

Vlad started to walk away from Jazz and toward the cabin. Danny was dragging his feet behind him in an effort to slow the mad man down. It was eerily silent, and the teen couldn't help but think that he had done something wrong.

"Vlad!" Danny yelled out, the fear clearly evident in his tone. Vlad hadn't let up his pursuit, and now they had made it to the clearing where the cabin was at. "Vlad, seriously, what's your problem!"

"Clockwork…" Vlad muttered, shaking his head, "There can't be any way you have knowledge about him," he said, eyeing the teenager before pushing the door open. "I believe you are acquainted with a common friend, Bill Cipher?"

The teen let out a roll of his eyes out of annoyance towards the dream demon. "So he's working both sides…" He muttered, and before he knew what was happening, Vlad threw him in a room that was pitch black.

When Danny hit against one of the walls, the room began to light up green. The teen immediately closed his eyes and ducked his head with his arms over him. He expected the room to attack him, but was surprised when nothing happened. Curious, he looked up and found that that Vlad was leaning against the doorway with his arms crossed.

The green light was just that – it was a simple light above them that lit up the room. There was nothing more to it than that.

"Wondering what this room is?" He asked, and Danny gave a defiant glare as a response. He wouldn't dignify that man with a response. "I had it built especially for you. A precaution in case you were to cause any problems during this summer vacation of yours."

"I didn't even do anything!" Danny yelled out, unsatisfied with being punished for something he didn't do. I mean, sure, he was trying to stop Vlad in any way that he could, but not once had he physically stopped him. He still didn't know exactly what the older halfa was planning, and it was hard to tell exactly because he hadn't let out any hints.

Vlad shook his head, ignoring the teenager, "It also serves as an interrogation room when needed," he stated, and Danny's eyes widened.

The teen shook his head, "You can't keep me here, my family will ask where I am," he said, pointing out the obvious flaw with Vlad's plan.

"Will they?" Vlad asked rhetorically. The response was borderline devious, as if he knew something that Danny didn't. Usually that was most of the time, but unlike the other times that Vlad had said something like that – this one gave him shivers down his spine.

"Vlad," Danny spoke out, before taking a step forward. "Vlad!" He yelled, but received no response before the door closed as the man stepped out. "Vlad!" Danny screeched, pounding at the door with his hands.

* * *

It was two hours before Vlad had opened up the door again. The teen was by the corner with his knees pushed against his chest. He hadn't fallen asleep, he didn't want to see that golden triangle traitor that was working as a double agent for the two of them.

"What?" Danny asked tiredly, sure that it was around dinner time at this point. He was getting hungry, but he would never let Vlad know that. "You already know everything I do."

Vlad let out a chuckle before he leaned against the room's black walls, the eerie green light lighting up the room ever so dimly. "You know that's not the truth, Daniel," he lectured, making the teen look up to see the older halfa looking down at him. "Let's start with something easy – tell me about Clockwork."

Danny glared at the older halfa before looking down at the ground, "Concentrate and ask again," the teenager responded blandly.

"Clockwork, Daniel," Vlad ordered in a no nonsense tone.

"Ask again later…" Danny responded, making Vlad let out an amused chuckle. The teenager, confused by his reaction looked up in time for the man to give him a smirk.

Vlad nodded, "Magic eight ball answers aren't real answers," he stated, already knowing what game that teenager was playing. Although it was amusing for him for albeit a few seconds, he was over it. "Answer truthfully or I'll start enacting my threat from before…" He trailed before looking up at the ceiling with a thoughtful look. "Perhaps I'll start with one of the Pine children?"

" _Okay_!" Danny yelled, sitting up straight, "What do you want to know about Clockwork?"

"For a start: How do you know him?" Vlad asked, looking back down at the teen with a steady gaze. The intensity of the stare was enough to make the teen's skin start to crawl. It was as if the only thing that Danny could do was tell the truth, but he knew that was mistake that he couldn't make.

Vlad couldn't find out about the alternate timeline where he had become evil. Besides, even if he did tell the truth, there was no way that Vlad would ever believe something that seemed so far-fetched. He would think he was lying and would demand the truth.

There wasn't any winning with this one.

Maybe he should start with the half-truth and try and create some lies in-between.

"He tried to kill me," Danny answered with a shrug.

Vlad looked at him and furrowed his eyebrows in disbelief. The teen could tell that he wasn't buying it, and he prayed that he would take it. It was the truth, don't hurt someone he cares about because he told the truth.

Not knowing he had held his breath, he let out a long exhale when Vlad nodded, taking in the information that was given to him. The older halfa stood up straight before kneeling down by the teenager, who had grown tense and alert by this action.

"And why would the master of time try and kill somebody as _harmless_ and _heroic_ as Danny Fenton?" He asked, drawing out his words. Danny tried to not visibly pale at the fact that Vlad wasn't taking it. He wasn't taking the truth.

But on the other hand, he was now asking for another question that Danny couldn't dodge by simply telling a half-truth.

Or maybe he could tell Vlad exactly what he wanted to hear without giving too much away.

"Because if _you_ could see my potential to become evil and succumb to darkness, then what makes you think that a ghost that can see the past, present, and future couldn't?" Danny asked, hating himself every second. It was true, he did have the potential for evil. One wrong turn and he's Vlad's puppet for the rest of his unnatural life.

"That's one of the things I'm counting on, little badger," Vlad stated before he stood up. Danny looked up at him with raised eyebrows in confusion at what he was talking about. "And once you go down that dark road – albeit you might be fighting and refusing me at every twist and turn – there will be no chance of redemption for you."

Danny stood up and narrowed his eyes at Vlad, "I firmly believe that everyone has a second chance," he responded, and Vlad let out a chuckle before opening up the door. The light from inside of the room turned off, and Vlad walked out only for the door to remain open.

Curious, the teen quickly walked out and peeked around the door down a small corridor within the cabin. It was recognizable, but he was sure that the door hadn't been there before. He took a step out, and the door behind him closed slowly before blending into the wall.

It was as if there never was a door there at all.

The teen couldn't help but stare at what was his prison before turning around. He almost collided with Vlad, who hadn't moved from that spot since they had exited.

"Based on the look in your eyes when you said that, Daniel, I believe that you've already _had_ your second chance," he spoke out, and with every word, the teenager could feel his heart sink lower and lower into the pit of his stomach. "Your super hero philosophy, that doesn't entail you to have a _third_ chance, does it?" He asked rhetorically before turning around.

"Stop trying to get in my head, Vlad!" Danny yelled out, making Vlad stop walking away. "You're whole ' _corrupting_ _me_ ' speech was real great and all, but I'll never join your side. I have family and friends that will stand by me and prevent me from taking any ' _dark_ ' paths."

Vlad let out an ominous chuckle before turning around with a smirk. "You are so naïve, boy, as to think that you've ever had a choice of where your life was heading," he stated, making Danny take a step back in fear. Vlad took another step forward, and then another, "The Manson's did not simply go to Europe without a benefactor of mine waiting there for them to make a business deal," he stated, making Danny take a few more steps back in response.

"Tucker Foley's PDA has had a nasty little virus that my R and D department of my company had produced – making him unable to communicate with you should you ever need it," Vlad added, making Danny take a few more steps back only to hit a wall. "And without the aid of your little _friends_ helping you – you fell into my clutches beginning at day one."

"Tell me again how they have prevented you from making the wrong decisions. Your sister hasn't been much help to you lately, or frankly, over the course of this entire summer. What she _thinks_ is helping you is in actuality _harming_ you. For you see, she doesn't understand our unique mental imperfections – otherwise known as obsessions. And those two children that you ' _hang_ ' with, which I don't exactly know why you bother – they will be the greatest leverage I could have ever imagined to use against you."

Danny didn't know what to say, Vlad always rants when he points out that he has won. That, or he's just plain angry about something like a forty-year old man. The teen didn't dare move, mostly because of close proximity between the two of them.

"And you, Daniel, _you_ did that all on your own. I hadn't planned on that happening, but who am I to look a gift horse in the mouth?" He asked, turning on his heels and walking away.

As soon as he did, Danny couldn't help but slide against the wall. Vlad really had covered all of his tracks this time. But what he didn't understand is that he had told Dipper the one thing that could take him out. It would absolutely destroy his obsession and probably break him.

But he would rather be unable to do anything that be a pawn to Vlad to control.

"It's been two days since you've been in there, and true to my word, your family and friends hadn't even noticed you were gone…" He trailed, looking back to see the shaken up teenager in the eyes. "Although, in your absence, those children that you've grown attached to have been through some rather…" He trailed purposefully, "Traumatic things…" He muttered before looking back to the front and placing his hands behind his back as he walked away down the hall.

Danny scrambled himself up from the wall and immediately shifted into Danny Phantom with a blink of white light. Quickly turning himself intangible, he wobbled on his feet before flying out towards the Mystery Shack.

He hoped that Dipper and Mabel were alright.

 **To be continued…**

* * *

 **A/N: Little Dipper is going to be the next chapter, and I would have included in this one, but I figured that I would try and update this story. That, and no one really gives two pizza rolls on how long my chapters are. Just meeting my own status quo, I guess. So, shortest chapter yet as a result.**

 **Also, didn't want to write with time traveler Rick guy, or street fighter knockoff, so that's why I skipped two days.**

 **As for how Danny's family and friends didn't notice him missing for two days? Well, I'll leave that up to you to decide. Honestly, my two options that I would choose would be either Bill the Cipher, or Vlad used duplicates.**

 **Behind the magic:**

 **(This is where I talk about any unique elements that I put into my stories)**

 **In the first scene, Vlad and Danny use each other's words to try and outwit each other verbally. I think it was cute to add it in, and decided to kind of portray them as father/son? I don't know, I guess I'm weird like that.**

 **Mabel thinks that Danny is an invisible wizard because he only turned intangible in front of her. It wasn't as if he morphed into Danny Phantom in front of her. I think it relates back to Gravity Falls with the whole 'invisible wizard in the closet' think that they had in one episode.**

 **And the last part is when Vlad is basically revealing all of the plays that he did earlier in the story. When he's saying how he sent Sam away to Europe on purpose, Tucker with no way of communication, and already planned on the isolation between Jazz and Danny at the beginning. No stone was left unturned sort of thing is what I tried to get across. I think it worked out well.**

 **A bonus: In the forest when time started to slow down, who do you think that was? Could have been Clockwork, but then if it was, how did Vlad know that Danny said his name? Weird, could have been time traveler Rick guy because that episode was the next one after the treasure one. On the other side, it also could have been Bill – he's been known to exist outside of the dreamscape for a few occasions.**


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: Happy update everyone! This is the mid-season finale! You can love me or hate me, but the chapter is pretty dern good either way.**

 **Want to give a huge shoutout to everyone who has reviewed/followed/favorited this story, and for sticking with me for this long. Since this is the mid-season finale, you guys must really like this story to still be supporting me. Props to you guys, you're the best. And you have great taste, of course, because you like Gravity Falls and Danny Phantom (** **and me** **).**

 **Much too kind.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own anything.**

 **Undisclosed Summer**

* * *

Danny got over to the Mystery Shack as fast as he could fly. Although, because he hadn't morphed in a few days, his powers began to grow less stable as the seconds passed by. His posture started to tremble, and he waved his arms to the sides suddenly to try and steady himself.

Since he was too focused on maintaining his flight, he looked forward just in time to notice the top of a tree. Face first into the pine needles, he slowly floated down the base of the tree until he hit the grass floor of the forest. He blinked a few times and shook his head gently, trying to quickly get ahold of his double vision that he had gotten as a result from his crash.

"I have to go – got to go," he muttered, slowly placing one knee on the ground before pushing himself off with his other foot. His double vision was starting to get back to normal – albeit at a relatively small rate.

The Mystery Shack was in his sight, and he couldn't help but run a little faster. Knowing that the twins could be in danger at this given moment fueled his ambition to keep going. He morphed into Fenton and quickly opened up the door to the shack without knocking.

Mabel and Dipper were arguing in the gift shop on who was taller than the other.

Letting out a relieved sigh, he leaned against the doorframe and ran a hand through his hair. It was a false alarm – Vlad didn't do anything to them. Then why was it that he had warned the teen to begin with?

"Danny, who's taller?" Mabel asked, pointing between herself and her brother with her pointer finger, "Obviously it's me, right?" She asked, before placing her hands on her waist dramatically. "Look at how much taller I am than him!"

Trying to gain control of his breathing from running up the steep hill to get to the Mystery Shack, he took in a deep breath. "Uh…Have you tried measuring?" He asked, and Dipper placed his fist in his open palm as if he had solved something magnificent.

"That's what I _was_ saying before you went on a tangent!" Dipper mildly complained at his sister before shaking his head. "Time to settle this the old fashioned way!" He boasted, heading into the kitchen. Mabel frowned at his confidence before she followed him – eager to learn about the results herself.

Wendy glanced over at Danny with a raised eyebrow, "You look like crap," she stated, and Danny couldn't help but drag his feet behind him as he walked over to the check-out counter. He barely had enough energy to stand, let alone walk.

"I feel like crap," he muttered, shaking his head and running his hand through his hair again. His nerves were out of control. He was still having a hard time to deal with the fact that this entire summer vacation was an elaborate scheme of Vlad's.

He did have his suspicions at first, but it was about as basic as Vlad trying to kill his dad.

His eyes went wide when he realized that while Vlad was saying everything that he had planned – he never once brought up the topic of killing his dad. It was strange and unusual for the older halfa to not bring it up.

Everything that he had said was about ruining his life and that was it.

His heart started to sink…killing his father wasn't at the top of Vlad's list at the moment. No, this summer he wanted Danny to submit and become his son. That was the focus, and that was the end goal. Danny didn't expect this – it wasn't normal. Vlad wasn't even trying to go after his mom this time – and that was a new first for him.

"Crap…" Danny trailed, and Wendy pursed her lips in concern.

"You already said that, man, you must _really_ be down in the dumps," she pointed out, leaning on the counter with her elbows lazily.

The young halfa looked over at the red head and nodded numbly. And all this time the teen thought that he could still win. That he could somehow come out on top and beat Vlad like he usually did. He would seriously need to talk to Dipper sometime today about following through with that note he had wrote about a week ago.

"Is that why you haven't been around lately?" Wendy asked, nonchalantly, flipping through a magazine that was positioned on the counter. "You missed like, the fight between Dipper and Robbie. It was pretty intense, I heard the water tower fell down," she stated, looking up at the ceiling for a brief moment. "Oh, and I guess the kids went through time," she added as an afterthought before looking back down at her magazine and flipping another page carelessly.

"Wait, what?" Danny asked, realizing what she had said. She glanced up from her magazine and stared up at his face with a raised eyebrow. Curious as to what she had said that had caught his attention. Weird stuff happens in Gravity Falls all the time, that shouldn't have surprised him. "You noticed I was gone?"

Wendy blinked and then went silent for a few seconds, "Danny, I know that we don't talk that often, but I know when you don't show up. I work here. But now that you mention it, I was the only one who noticed that you _were_ gone…" She trailed, and Danny narrowed his eyes as he looked over at the jar of eyeballs on the counter.

Vlad had seemed pretty sure that no one knew that he was gone. It wasn't like the man to bluff and lie about something that could hurt him. Maybe there was something different about Wendy? Maybe she could see things that no one else could?

"So where were you? Chilling at home?" Wendy pressed before looking away from Danny and back to her magazine. She flipped another page and it landed on some popular boy band with blonde hair. "That's what I would do if I were you."

"Kind of forced to, yeah," Danny commented, and that's when Dipper stormed out of the room with a flashlight and a piece of string. He also had his journal underneath his arm with a determined look on his face. This kid was on a mission, and nothing was going to stop him from completing it.

Dipper opened up the door, ignoring Danny and heading straight into the woods. Wendy glanced up from her magazine before shaking her head and going back to reading. "Anyway, I'll see you around," Danny said before following after Dipper quickly.

Wendy nodded absently, barely hearing what the younger halfa had said.

* * *

"Now I _am_ taller than her," Dipper said just as Danny caught up to him. Dipper turned around with a sly grin on his face as he lowered the flashlight that now had a crystal bounded to it. "Oh, hey, Danny!" He greeted, "Great weather up here, huh?"

"Dipper, we have a problem," Danny started to say but was interrupted when Mabel ran over to them.

Dipper grinned over at her with a smirk, "Look who's the taller twin now!" He boasted, and Mabel raised an accusatory finger at him with a scowl.

" _I'm_ the taller one! It's my birthright!" Mable argued, jumping Dipper, accidentally activating the flashlight. It illuminated a purple color, and its aim was directed at Danny.

Once it hit him, he quickly became four inches tall in a flash. Looking down at himself he let out a grumble, "I already did this once!" He complained, remembering the time he became small with Dash. And his constant whining of how Dash 'didn't do tiny'. Not like the shortage of his powers was helping the situation. He was glad when he became his normal size again.

His eyes went wide, "Oh don't tell me," he whispered, holding out his hand to try and summon and ecto-blast. His hand fizzled out a green spark before it quickly died. "Change me back!" He yelled, panic in his tone. He was unheard by the twins who began to break out into a sibling argument.

"Great, you made Danny small!"

"I didn't do it, you big bozo, that was you!"

"Oh, so you acknowledge that I'm the taller one. Good to know."

"Give me the magical flashlight, Dipper!"

"Why don't you come over here and get it, Smable!"

If Vlad was going to pull something with the kids, then Danny wouldn't be able to help them. Not when he was a few inches tall and had no ghost powers. Mabel and Dipper kept arguing over the flashlight before playing tug of war with it. The teen face palmed and could only watch their sibling rivalry from all the way down on the ground.

It flung out of their hands and landed on the ground, but not before hitting the white haired child that might as well have been called Vlad Jr. himself; Gideon.

"Oh, my heart and stars, what is this?" Gideon asked, picking up the flashlight before inspecting it.

"Maybe he doesn't know it's a magical flashlight that can change the sizes of people with the push of a button?" Mabel 'whispered' but was just blatantly telling Gideon how it worked. Dipper looked over at Mabel dryly, and she gave a nervous shrug.

Gideon let out a chuckle before turning on the button. The purple light swallowed the twins, and in an instant, they were the same size of Danny and standing next to him. The teen nodded his head, "Of course it would happen like this…" He trailed before pushing the twins behind him protectively.

"Oh, that's precious, you're going to try and stop me from capturing them?" Gideon asked, and Danny placed a hand out from instinct and habit of shooting anything that threatens him – other than Dash, but quickly lowered it with wide eyes.

When nothing came out of his hand, he knew that no matter how hard he tried to use his powers…he couldn't.

He was absolutely powerless.

Gideon reached down and grabbed all three of them before placing them in a jar that he was carrying. Danny landed on the ground first before looking up to notice the twins following towards him. He braced for impact and was pushed towards the bottom of the glass. That was going to leave a bruise in the morning that he couldn't heal.

* * *

Danny was watching his white haired warden intently. He was standing against the side of a jar with his arms crossed. Mabel and Dipper were kept in a strange makeshift town of Gravity Falls that signified that Gideon had too much time on his hands.

The doorbell rang, and Gideon let out a dark chuckle, "And that would be my important guest!" He sang out before glancing at Danny as he left the room. The child left the door open, and the teen knew that if he could use his powers then he would be able to get out of his prison.

"Alright, guys, I'm not mad that we're in this situation…" Danny trailed before looking over at the siblings with a stern gaze, "Just disappointed."

"I knew he would say that…" Mabel muttered, feeling bad that she had contributed to their present predicament, "I _knew_ he would…" she trailed, kicking at the fake ground that made up a scale model of Gravity Falls.

Dipper cleared his throat, "What do we do?" He asked, looking over at Danny for any plans.

Danny shrugged his shoulders, "I can't do anything," he said as he raised his hand up to the glass jar that served as a prison. Green smoke once again fizzled in his hand before disappearing. Dipper nodded and looked at the ground in thought.

Gideon was smart to place Danny away from the siblings. Having already had experience in the 'micro managing' department, it would be easy to use the objects in the room to make their way onto the ground and out through the open door.

But the lid on the jar was closed, and the jar was placed in the middle of a desk.

Even if he were to push it toward the edge, he would be too exhausted from using all of his physical labor to run.

"Thank you for informing me," Vlad said as he entered the room. "You are proving to be a most promising asset," he praised before looking directly over at Danny from across the room.

The teen felt as if he could roll his eyes from how extreme his situation had become if he wasn't nervous beyond belief. He didn't want to think about how it could get any worse. Because any time that Vlad appears, it's the worst it could ever be.

"If you would wait outside, I will be out in just a moment," Vlad said as he entered the room and closed it behind him. His arms were behind his back, and he let out a chuckle, looking over at the teen. "Out of one prison and into another I see," he stated.

Danny responded with a glare, but stood up straighter and walked forward a bit. Vlad looked over at the door and brought his hand out, a pink ecto-blast covering his hand before he shot it at the doorknob. It melted into place, not allowing anyone to interfere with what he had planned.

"I did tell you that those kids would be your downfall, did I not?" Vlad rhetorically asked, walking closer to where Danny was being held.

"What's your point?" Danny asked impatiently.

Vlad put a hand up, "Patience, Daniel," he stated, making the teenager growl and pound on the glass with his fists. The older halfa turned to look at the children with a sly grin, "You see, children, you are what I would call leverage."

"A term that Daniel has been well informed of the past few days…" He muttered, stealing a quick glance over the teenager before redirecting his attention to the children in front of him.

"I don't want to be a lever!" Mabel cried out, not understanding what that word was. Dipper looked over at his sister before looking over at Vlad. Unlike his sister, he did understand what that term meant, and he didn't like the position that they were in.

Danny tried to make the glass break by running up against it. He succeeded in moving it a few inches across the table, but Vlad made quick note of this. He waved his hand over towards the teenager, and inside of the glass jar was a pink ghost shield. It prevented the teen from trying to escape and save the children.

"Come now, little badger, I don't want you to injure yourself…" Vlad lectured shaking his head. The younger halfa wouldn't give up his escape attempt and help Dipper and Mabel no matter what Vlad did. Danny ran against the pink shield before being shot back to the ground. He growled out in frustration from not being able to do anything.

His elbow hit the ground hard, and he stayed on the glass bottom of the jar.

Nobody was going to be able to save them – they were on their own.

Without warning, Vlad reached down and grabbed the children. He eyed the fireplace across the room, and Danny followed his glance and visibly paled. The children also knew where they were being led to, and Vlad let out a low casual whistle.

"Vlad!" Danny yelled, suddenly getting to his feet and running over to the side of the jar. The pink transparent color was obscuring his eyesight, and he couldn't get a clear picture of what was happening. "What are you doing!?"

"Use your observational skills, Daniel – what does it appear that I'm trying to do?" Vlad asked, positioning the miniature children over the fireplace. Dipper and Mable were screaming, and sweating from the heat of the flames just a few feet below them.

Danny banged against the pink shield with his fists, "Stop!"

Vlad turned to look over at Danny, but still had the twins positioned to be dropped into the fire. They would die if Vlad let them go – and the teen wouldn't be able to stop him.

"Beg," Vlad stated, and Danny raised his eyebrows.

"Beg for what?" He asked, and Vlad let out a smirk.

"Beg to join me, and I'll stop."

Danny's heartbeat started to become audible to him. He was being pressured to join Vlad in the most humiliating of ways. And he knew this is what Vlad had wanted to hear all summer. His friends would be disappointed, his sister would be in shock. His promise to never turn evil would be broken – would Clockwork come and hunt him again if things got too bad?

"Tick tock, Daniel," Vlad spoke, making Danny look up at him, his breathing uncontrollable. His hands were trembling, and he couldn't help but sweat at this decision that he was going to make.

But he had to: For Mabel and Dipper.

It was the right choice, but it was ironic that it had to be the right choice to do the wrong thing.

"Please," Danny said, clenching his shaking hands against the glass wall. He saw that Vlad wasn't satisfied with just a single 'please'. Danny swallowed down a lump in this throat. This was a lot harder than he thought it ever would be. "Please let me join you."

"That's not quite good enough," Vlad said, slowly releasing his hand. Mabel's feet were dangling from it, and she gripped onto anything that she could. Dipper had a hand that was grabbing the very top of Vlad's so that he wouldn't fall. He offered his sister his other free hand, and she greedily took it in fear of her life.

Danny's heart started to race. "Let me join the dark side! I want to be your son and apprentice!" He yelled out, not knowing what else the older halfa wanted. Vlad cocked his head to the side, and with his other free he waved it in a circle motioning for the teen to continue. "Adopt me!" He yelled, elaborating on what he said before. His mind frantically thought to anything else that might appease the man.

"My father's an idiot, and I should have renounced him at the reunion because he's really embarrassing and…" He trailed, placing his head on the glass in remorse. He closed his eyes and placed his hand on the glass. "And you would make a better father than Jack could ever hope to be…" he trailed in a dead tone, "I have nothing but respect for you and really want you to teach me about ghost stuff. Wisconsin isn't such a bad place to live, and…" He trailed looking up to see that Vlad was directly in front of him.

The children had been placed safely back in the fake Gravity Falls model, and Danny looked over at the older halfa. Vlad could have stopped him at any point, and he narrowed his eyes at the man in absolute detestment.

"I'll admit, I was curious to see how much more I could get out of you," Vlad teased, although his large smirk on his face told Danny that he had said all that he needed to. The teen probably could have stopped at 'his father's an idiot' and that would have been enough.

"You…" Danny muttered, but was prevented from saying anything else when Vlad picked up the jar that he was being contained in. The teen, who was standing, fell down from the sudden movement. He bruised his other elbow from hitting the ground, and it started to pulsate in pain. He grabbed it, and held onto it while clenching his teeth.

The pink ghost shield that Vlad had put in place had disappeared, and the teen looked up through the glass at the man. Danny felt more than half-dead, he felt completely dead. Those words that he said couldn't be taken back. And the worst part is that he had meant those words – if he didn't then Vlad would have killed the twins.

He had to make as sincere as he could.

"Cheer up, Daniel, you have a bright future ahead of you," Vlad boasted, and Danny turned on his side to not see the gloating older halfa. The teen let out a groan of self-pity before Vlad yanked the door open.

Gideon was on the other side waiting patiently for Vlad to be finished with his business. The man held out his hand, and the white haired boy brought out the flashlight and placed it in the older halfa's hand. Vlad closed his hand around it before lowering the jar to the ground.

"Are you sure you don't want him to stay permanently like that?" Gideon asked, and Danny gave him a scathing glare as the teen turned to look at the kid. The teen's eyes illuminated a violent neon green and wouldn't disappear.

Feeling unnerved, Gideon quickly looked away. The look in the teen's eyes was enough to make him start to have perspiration. There was something in those green eyes that seemed to warrant his death should Danny ever receive the chance to do so.

"As tempting as that is…" Vlad trailed, turning on the flashlight to return the teenager to his normal height. Danny looked around and found that he didn't miss being a merely four inches. When his eyes landed on Gideon he let out a glare and powered up a green ecto-blast.

Only hateful thoughts were directed at Vlad Jr. It was all his fault that he was in this mess to begin with. That he had submitted to Vlad because he was trapped in a jar. That Mabel and Dipper had almost been killed because he was small and powerless.

"Daniel," Vlad commanded, making the teenager look over at the older halfa.

"He-!"

"Is an associate of mine that is not to be harmed, is that understood?" He asked, looking away from the teen before walking towards the front door. Danny turned his head slowly at Gideon and closed his eyes before opening them again. They were their normal blue color, and he turned on his heels before following after Vlad.

His life was officially over. He was taking orders from Vlad and had to listen to him now. After all, he had practically begged to join the older halfa. It was for a good cause – but it didn't matter. There was no going back to Amity Park when this was over. Vlad had only moved there to make Danny's life a personal hell to begin with.

Tuck and Sam would be crushed that he wouldn't be going back to school. It was supposed to their Junior year together and now he didn't know where he would be.

His family would be torn that he would be living with Vlad when summer was over. His father would be oblivious as always, but Jazz and his mom would know that something was up.

It wasn't fair.

When he stepped out into the outside world, he found that Vlad had waited for him.

"Let's get going, _son_ ," Vlad emphasized the 'son' part just to grate on Danny's nerves. It had worked, because the teen started to tremble with anger. The older halfa gave the teen one last smirk before he started to walk down the sidewalk.

"Can it get any worse…?" Danny asked, already knowing that this had to be the lowest.

 **To be continued… [Part 1 Complete]**

* * *

 **A/N: Yo guys, so, as state above, this is the end of part 1. Sort of like a mid-season finale, and what a place to stop, am I right?**

 **Don't worry, you don't have to go anywhere else to see Part 2. It will be continued on this story, just hit the halfway part with the episodes.**

 **Have an awesome Happy Holidays! Danny probably won't be having any happy holidays. I mean, how long did you think he would have been able to fight against Vlad without any reliable help? Haha. I know, I'm pretty bad.**

 **Behind the Magic:**

 **1.) Reference to the episode 'Micro Management' from Danny Phantom. This wasn't Danny's first rodeo.**

 **2.)** " **My heart and stars" I don't know if that's a southern slang, and I've lived in Florida for a while. But, I'll try and write Gideon better in later chapters. Probably do some research on popular southern sayings in the future.**


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: It's summer time again! That means this is going to be updated once more. Everyone, thank you for the follows/favorites/ and reviews! It makes my day to know that someone out there enjoys my writing!**

 **This takes place during the Summerween episode.**

 **I figured that Danny wouldn't really be in the trick or treating mood.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Danny Phantom, or Gravity Falls.**

* * *

Everything that he desperately tried to prevent this summer vacation was being ripped apart at the seams. The number one thing that he wasn't supposed to do – he did. He couldn't take back what he said about his dad – or about how he wanted to join Vlad. It all happened, and to him it seemed as if it were two lifetimes ago.

Resting an elbow on the coffee table in the living room, he stared up at the massive flat screen that was placed above the fire place mantel. His eyes gazed into the black reflection of the screen before he felt nothing except his own building despair.

He thought that maybe there would possibly be a way out of their agreement – but there wouldn't.

He was trapped, and Vlad knew it. The man had made sure that the teenager would submit and join him over the duration of the summer. Danny just didn't want to admit that it had happened this early. Without his friends and sister to back him up and give him support – he really was vulnerable to Vlad's corruption.

His finger dug into his scalp in writhing anger at himself.

What kind of hero _was_ he when he was a _pawn_ doing everything that Vlad wanted him to do?

"Danny, how are you holding up?" Jazz asked quietly, sitting beside him on the carpeted ground. He gazed over at her lazily from the corner of his eyes. She had a stern, unwavering frown on her face, but her bottom lip was quivering. His sister blamed herself for what happened – how _she_ should have been watching Vlad better.

Blaming herself for being yet another pawn in Vlad's grand scheme of things.

But how could she?

Vlad was always two steps ahead of everyone – it wasn't a competition. Not if the victor had already won and was just waiting for the other competitors to catch up, just to watch them fall into their defeat. It wasn't her fault that this happened, it wasn't anyone's. It just happened and there's nothing that can be done about it now.

Even if nobody wanted it.

"Jazz," Danny muttered, turning his head to look at his older sister. She bit her lower lip to prevent herself from showing weakness in front of him. He felt a tug at his heart for letting his sister down. She didn't need to stay strong during this time, he was the hero. "It's okay - _I'm_ okay."

"No…" She trailed, looking down at the ground as she placed her hands in her lap. She tightened one hand around the other tightly. It was all she could do to not immediately hug her brother. "You're not," she muttered, and he let out a long sigh. There was a brief silence between the siblings. "This isn't fair!" She whispered in a hushed tone to prevent herself from getting any louder. The urge to scream out in absolute and uncontrollable rage was more prominent than before.

She was angry – Danny was angry, but what was the use getting upset over a situation that you couldn't control?

"It isn't," he added, making her slowly look over to him. Her eyes were filling up with tears, and he put on a small smile on his face to try and cheer her up. "We'll find a way out of this."

Vlad entered the room with a cell phone raised to his ear. "I already told you I am on vacation, Tiffany," he spoke before entering the kitchen. Both Fenton siblings were alerted to his entrance and glared over at him. He opened up a kitchen cabinet and pulled out a coffee mug. "This seemed like a problem for the marketing department – did you really need to call _me_ with this issue?"

The older halfa placed the mug on the counter, turned around, and found the coffee pot that was being warmed up. He walked over to the other side of the counter with his mug in tow before looking over into the living room. The older halfa felt eyes watching him, and usually he was right with his suspicions. He spotted the two teenager's angrily looking at him as if he had just ruined their entire lives. He rolled his eyes at their childish thoughts and focused his attention back on his coffee.

"Then run the numbers again – I'm sorry, but I really must be going," Vlad concluded, pulling the phone away from his ear and tapped a few buttons on the screen. There was a deafening silence for a few seconds. "If you're going to be angry at me, Daniel, then at least let me hear some words of complaint."

Danny narrowed his eyes as the older halfa walked into the room with a steaming hot cup of coffee in his hands. "You want _words_?" He snapped, as he stood up angrily. "How about 'That was really low what you did to Dipper and Mabel' for starters!"

Vlad took a seat on one of the leather couches before letting out a low chuckle at what the teen was talking about. Danny bit his tongue at his response at remembering that he almost murdered two children just yesterday. "I am not to blame for taking advantage of leverage when I see it."

Letting out a growl, the teen sent Vlad a neon green, poisonous glare. "They _aren't_ leverage!" He argued, but was stopped from his mid-rant when he saw an eyebrow being raised from the older halfa. Danny had seen that body language a thousand times since he had met the man.

 _And your point?_

"Are all people weaker than you leverage, Vlad?" Danny asked in a low tone, directly speaking his argument to the older halfa.

"No," Vlad responded immediately after taking a sip of coffee. "Only the people that matter to _you_ ," he clarified, making Danny let out a loud and exhausted exhale. The teen knew that the man was about to go off on a rant about how easy it all was for Vlad to win. He wasn't disappointed when Vlad spoke out the following words. "You leave yourself open for exploitation, little badger, and I'm afraid that resourceful people take advantage of that."

"Stop speaking to me like I don't know what's going on!" Danny yelled, making Vlad lower his mug to the side table next to him. The man focused all his undivided attention on the teenager now that his steaming beverage was out of his hands. They locked gazes for a few seconds. Vlad knew that the teen was upset about the outcome of their long drawn out battle over the summer. Still, it had happened – the teen needed to get over it and owned up to when he had lost.

The younger halfa stared with an unwavering angry gaze, and when Vlad didn't say anything else on the matter, he ran a hand through his sweaty hair in defeat. It was damp from anger and frustration, and the teen was getting mentally exhausted from these conversations of theirs.

Not to mention, he hadn't gotten much sleep last night.

It was Danny's fault for the position that he was in – and it was getting to the point where the teenager _knew_ it was his fault. He wasn't strong enough to protect Dipper and Mabel and instead could only save them using his last resort. Of course, that was giving Vlad exactly what he wanted. A son, or apprentice, whatever it was that he wanted Danny to become – the point was he had _given_ _in_ to his arch enemy.

Vlad couldn't leave well enough alone when he had won. He wanted to make Danny see that the teenager was entirely at fault for what had happened. Despite the fact that the older halfa was the one who held his friend's lives over a deathly, scorching fire.

Silence overcame the room, and Jazz slowly got to her feet. "You got what you wanted, Vlad," she muttered out. The older halfa glanced over at her with a knowing smirk on his face. "Just let us go home."

"Jasmine. _That_ would entail that Daniel will be going to Wisconsin with me," he spoke, and he reveled in the way that the siblings looked at each other with wide eyes before looking back over at him in fear. "Are you sure you want the summer to end this quickly?"

"No!" Danny voiced, taking a few steps back in defiance. Vlad watched him with a stern gaze before waving his hand dismissively towards the teenager. There would be plenty of time for the teenager to treat him with respect when they were living together. He would teach Daniel to not disrespect him or speak against him…but that would come with time.

Not to mention all the countless weeks of training that he would put the boy through.

Jazz narrowed her eyes, "You _do_ know that we'll spend the rest of the summer looking for a way to stop you."

Vlad let out a genuine chuckle at this notion. " _Stop_ _me_?" He rhetorically asked dramatically, shaking his head and lifting up his coffee mug once again. He held it by the handle carefully before looking at the teenagers with a carefree look. "I've already _won_ , Jasmine," he stated in a matter-of-fact tone.

Danny looked away from Vlad. He couldn't stand the way he was talking – even if it was the cold hard truth. The living room started to spin, and he placed a hand out and gripped the back of the couch. His strength started to fluctuate, but he still managed to keep standing.

Jazz was too busy glaring over at the older halfa to notice that Danny was about to faint from exhaustion. Vlad, however, had, and was keeping a keen eye to make sure that the teen was alright. The man knew that the teen had pulled an all-nighter. Whether the boy was unable to sleep due to what had happened, or he was trying to come up with a way to get out of their deal, Vlad wasn't sure.

Danny started to wobble and he blinked the black dots that were filling his vision away. He shook his head, but that only succeeded in making his condition worse. A pounding headache told him to close his eyes and submit to the darkness trying to take him.

"Not quite _yet_ , you haven't," Jazz countered, and was about to walk away when Danny suddenly fell to the ground. "Danny!" She yelled, but was prevented from getting any closer to her brother when a shadow Plasmius appeared in front of her.

"Daniel is one of my assets, and I closely observe my assets with care," Vlad stated, standing up from the couch with a certain amount of elegance.

Jazz let out a scoff. "He isn't a thing you can own."

Vlad waved his hand, and in seconds his shadow duplicate turned itself and Danny intangible before leaving. "As of yet," he added off-handedly, turning his attention towards the teen girl. "Daniel seemed to have tuckered himself out trying to think of ways to get out of his situation. Must have stayed up all night just _pondering_ on what to do."

"You keep saying you want what's best for _him_ – but aren't you just doing what's best for _you_?" Jazz asked when the older hybrid went to take a step away. He halted in his trek and instead looked over at the teen girl with a calculative gaze.

"Consider it killing two birds with one stone," Vlad mused and shrugged indifferently as he tried to once again walk away. He had things to deal with his company that he couldn't leave alone for two seconds without things falling apart. Of course, there was also making sure that Daniel had a sufficient amount of rest. He didn't want the teen dying before the summer was over – not when he had too many plans for the boy.

Jazz clenched her hands tightly next to her. She hated the way that he said things, or the way he would twist his ideals and words to better accommodate the situation he was in. Instead, she said the only thing that she was thinking of. "You're weak," she spat out, the amount of spite she was sending towards him was immeasurable.

Vlad stopped walking and turned around with a scathing glare directed towards her. He was many things, but he certainly wasn't weak. "I am the farthest thing from weak, girl, you should do well to remember that." He hissed out as his eyes fluctuated from their normal blue to a murderous red, making the girl take a shaky step backward from panic.

"Leverage should know their place," Vlad muttered before turning around and walking away.

Jazz watched him leave and let out a breath she didn't know she was holding in. Vlad really _was_ the farthest thing from weak, and her and Danny needed to be more careful if…

"Danny!" She yelled, as if remembering that her brother had collapsed in the living room only a few minutes previously. Finding her energy, she ran up the wooden stairs and opened up the door to their room.

He wasn't there.

Her heart sank.

"Oh, Danny…" She trailed, looking downstairs from the wooden balcony inside the house.

* * *

The first thing that Danny did when he opened his eyes was let out a groan. He noticed that he wasn't in his room where he shared the living space with his sister. Instead, he was in a large room, and was resting on a large bed. Sitting up, he noticed that Vlad was sitting at his desk and was typing on his laptop without taking a break.

"How are you feeling?" Vlad asked, but didn't look back at the teenager. Instead, he kept on typing, making Danny rub his face with his hand to wake himself up.

"What am I doing here?" Danny responded groggily, his voice barely a level above a mumble. Vlad stopped his typing and rested his fingers on the keyboard. He then turned to look at the teen with a leveled glare.

The teen responded with his own glare, "What? Keeping an eye on me?" He asked, answering his own question from before. Vlad remained silent and turned back around and went back to typing on his laptop once again. For a few more seconds, Danny listened to that typing. Soon, the teen was growing more and more annoyed with the only sound of the room coming from the 'tapping' of the keyboard.

"Well-rested?" Danny asked after a few moments of silence, not sure if that would satisfy Vlad's silent rage. He figured that trying to 'one up' Vlad wasn't going to happen anytime soon. He might as well just play the older halfa's stupid game that they were currently playing – the game of 'you didn't answer my question and won't respond until you do'.

"Either you know or you don't, Daniel," Vlad stated, not looking away from his screen.

Danny glared at the back of Vlad's head. He hated being lectured by him – or in this exact situation, he hated being 'fathered' by him. Vlad would never take the place of Jack, Danny wouldn't allow that to happen. He would never stop looking for a way to get out of the grave that he had dug for himself. Speaking of, he was wasting what precious time he had left of being free _of_ Vlad _with_ Vlad.

"I know that I'm going to _leave_ …" Danny muttered, swinging his legs over the bed only to have a pink ecto-shield light up around the large bed space. Alarmed and startled, the teen quickly moved his entire body away from the edge of the bed. He stared at the vibrant pink color for a few seconds until realization suddenly hit him. "You put a ghost shield around the bed."

"Can't have you tire yourself out again," Vlad spoke from his spot on the other side of the room. Danny glanced his eyes over at him, and the teen couldn't prevent the fear from appearing on his face. When Vlad turned around to look at him, the man let out a triumphant smirk. "You understand that your life belongs to me now, don't you?"

The teen's heart was racing, and he didn't know what to say. The only thing that instantly came to his mind was the oldest excuse in the book to get away from someplace. It had worked multiple times in high school and had a relatively small failure rate.

"I have to go to the bathroom."

Vlad let out a chuckle, seeing right through the teen. Danny let out a small flinch at the man responding to his bluff. "I'm sure you can come up with a better excuse than that."

"Let me out _now_ , Vlad!" Danny demanded, and the man stood up from his seat. The teen tensed up at the man's sudden movement. "Can't you give me the rest of the summer?" Danny asked, his tone switching from anger to border-line pleading. "Please, just let me call Sam and Tucker. If I'm moving to Wisconsin after this trip, I just want to see them one last time."

"Do you know what I was working on, Daniel?" Vlad asked, ignoring everything that the teenager had said. Danny remained silent and instead tried to see the computer screen through the transparent pink color that was currently obscuring his vision. It didn't take the young halfa long to realize what was on the screen, and his heart plummeted into his stomach.

It took him a good few seconds to gather the strength to speak words. "Adoption papers…" Danny spoke, the fear showing in his voice, and on his face. For him, it was as if what had happened hadn't fully sunk in until he was seeing that the older halfa wasn't backing down from his promise. Vlad leaned down to look at the teen through the pink, transparent ghost shield.

"I can have your parents disown you in a number of ways. I can overshadow them and sign you over to me, for example," Vlad started to say. Danny didn't want to hear it, and instead backed away from the foot of the bed to the front of it. He placed his hands up to his ears and shook his head in disbelief. It wasn't real – it _couldn't_ be.

"Or, perhaps I'll get them with a child abuse case. Your scar tissue that you've obtained from your numerous ghost fights will be misunderstood. Social services will be forced to suspect that your parents have been negligent in your upraising. Then, when they are looking for a proper guardian, they will call on _me_ to watch over you."

Danny tried digging his hands deeper into his ears, but with his enhanced hearing, he had begrudgingly heard everything that Vlad was saying. The older halfa knew this, but didn't show any signs that he was bringing the boy any discomfort. Instead, he continued on.

Vlad then stood from his leaning position and let out a dark chuckle. "Or my personal favorite…I could get you to write anything I want you to. Jack is an abusive father. Living conditions are unfavorable. How much you want to live with _me_."

" _Stop_!" Danny yelled out in pain. He removed his hands from his ears – it wasn't as if they were doing much help where they were. "I get it, okay?! You've won! Don't tell me how you're going to ruin my life!"

Vlad couldn't help but release a small chuckle at the boy's inept ability to understand. "I'm _improving_ it, little badger, but your childish 'heroic' judgement is clouding your vision to see it."

The teen went silent and instead he turned away from Vlad and stared at one of the other sides of the room. It was a long shot, but the teen was starting to think about escaping the country once the summer was drawing to a close. That way, Vlad wouldn't be able to find him – and he wouldn't be able to control his future.

Vlad _couldn't_ control what he _didn't_ have.

He turned back towards Vlad only to see the man going back to his laptop. "What would you do if I ran?" Danny asked, voicing his thoughts. Vlad stopped walking and turned to look at him with a raised eyebrow. It was a sign that the teen was asking a stupid question – but the young halfa needed to know the consequences of all of his actions.

"Your leverage would be killed _instantly_ ," Vlad stated with no emotion or remorse hinted in his voice.

"And if you _didn't_ have any leverage?" Danny retorted instantly.

Vlad crossed his arms, "What are you thinking of doing, Daniel?" He asked, not fond of the idea of his asset becoming unpredictable. This meant that he would need to develop a new battle strategy to counter his enemy. "You care about your friends and family _far_ _too_ _much_ to get them killed. Considering they are a part of your obsession - they wouldn't be _easy_ to let go."

Danny shrugged his shoulders. "Obsessions can be formed as easily as they can be broken – _you_ were the one who taught me that. The point is, if I _didn't_ have leverage you _wouldn't_ be able to control me," Danny spoke honestly.

Vlad narrowed his eyes in thought and then looked down at the ground. Danny noticed that the man seemed to not notice that the teen was still in the room. Instead, the young halfa continued his small rant on how flawed Vlad's plan was. "Nothing would be holding me to you. And I wouldn't let my friends and family be killed – I would take them with me."

Silence fell upon the room.

The ghost shield dropped, and Danny looked over to the door and then back to Vlad. The man seemed to be thinking deeply and waved the teen to leave. "You may go."

Danny quickly jumped down from the bed and walked towards the door. When he went to open it, he turned to look at Vlad one last time. The man had a dark gleam in his eyes, and the teen hoped that he didn't add more fuel to the fire when it came to Vlad.

He should have kept his thoughts to himself.

If there was one thing that Danny wasn't proud of – it was that both him and Vlad liked to gloat when they were winning.

Not being able to do anything about it now, the teen exited out of the room and closed the door behind him.

* * *

Jack closed the front door with a large grin on his features. "Madds!" He called up to his wife, who was walking out of the room from upstairs. "You know the kids celebrate Halloween twice in a year?" He asked, holding a bowl of candy that was laying around the cabin.

Plopping a candy piece in his mouth he let out a small chuckle. "We should do this back in Amity! The kids there would love it!"

"Jack, Summerween is a Gravity Falls thing…" Maddie justified, walking down the steps to talk to her husband. "We can't just steal one of their traditions."

Jack's shoulder's slumped in disappointment. "Aw…" He whined, setting the bowl of candy that he was holding on one of the side tables. "I thought it was really cool," he moped, and Maddie walked up to him and gave him a small kiss on the cheek.

"And that's what makes _you_ really cool, hun," she stated with a grin. There was a knocking at the door, and Maddie touched his face lovingly for a brief few seconds. "I've got this one," she affirmed, walking over to the table and grabbing a few pieces of candy. Opening the door, it was revealed to be another group of trick or treaters.

Danny and Jazz walked down the stairs, all the while whispering secretly to one another. Jack heard their mumbling, and glanced over to his children with a raised eyebrow in curiosity. The man noticed just how pale and worried both of them were, frowning when Jazz bit her lower lip in concern at something that Danny had said.

"You shouldn't have said that," Jazz whispered, referring to Danny's retelling of what had happened in Vlad's room thirty minutes previously. He let out a small sigh and ran a hand nervously through his hair. "What can he do to make you stay?"

"Unless he has a contract written up somewhere…" Danny muttered out in sarcasm. Jazz shook her head and placed her palm up to rub some of the sweat that had accumulated on her forehead. "Who knows what he's looking for now."

Jack hear that last part and crossed his arms. When his children reached the bottom of the stairs, they seemed to have just noticed their father's presence. "Who's he?" Jack asked, looking down at the two teenager's, looking up at him as if they had just been caught stealing a cookie from the cookie jar.

Danny exchanged a look with Jazz. The young halfa then let out a small chuckle, "Vlad. He's just, uh, been in his room all day. I think he mentioned about how he kept losing track of, um…"

Jazz nodded, catching his distress. "Business papers!" She added, and Danny nodded and let out a small guilty smile. Although, he hoped that his father wouldn't call their bluff. It wasn't as if Jack had done it previously in the past, but for some reason he was incredibly more alert now than he had been before. "His business is falling apart without him."

"If that's the case, then maybe we should cut this summer trip short –

"No!" Jazz and Danny exclaimed, and Jack's eyes widened at the complete and absolute fear that was in their tone. The man blinked quickly, and then looked closely at his children.

Jazz cleared her throat. "We're having so much fun!"

Danny nodded in agreement, "Gravity Falls is just great! Please don't cut the trip short," the young halfa borderline pleaded. Jack rose an eyebrow and then nodded. "We're going to go to the library."

"Library?" Jack questioned, exchanging a confused look at Jazz and then Danny. "The _both_ of you?"

"Yup! Be back before midnight!" Jazz exclaimed, walking over to the door. "Don't wait up!" She added, walking past their mother who had finished giving candy to two groups of children. Danny followed his sister's lead and cautiously went around his mother and rejoined with his sister outside.

Maddie watched her kids leave the cabin and began to walk on the driveway towards the main road. She turned and rose a curious eyebrow at her husband. "What was that all about?" She asked, closing the door when she turned to look at him. "Did you see how exhausted the two of them looked?"

Jack nodded, lowering his head in thought. "This vacation seems to be wearing them out."

"What's going on with them, Jack?" Maddie asked in concern. "I've never seen them look this depressed – I'm thinking of calling off this summer vacation and heading back home."

"They want to stay, Madds," Jack mentioned what the kids had said to him when they had reached the bottom of the stairs. "They were almost _scared_ to leave…" He trailed, and then quickly looked back up at his wife. "You don't think there's ghosts here, do you?"

Maddie shook her head. Jack let out a small sigh at not knowing what was mentally harming his children. He felt awful, not being able to do anything to help them. The Wisconsin ghost had made an appearance a few weeks ago, but hadn't made its presence known since then.

"We need to talk to them," Maddie stated.

Jack nodded in agreement.

* * *

"Please tell me you found something," Danny pleaded, sliding down the wooden ladder that was propped against the tall bookshelf. When he hit the carpeted floor of the library, his sister looked up from the book she was reading. The table that she was sitting at had multiple small towers of different books.

Jazz shook her head and flipped a page. "Not yet…but I _did_ find a section on blood pacts."

Danny rose an eyebrow at that, and cautiously walked over to the table where they were temporarily stationed. "What's that about?" He asked, standing behind his sister, looking at the book that she had propped open. There was a picture of a dark silhouette that seemed to depict a vampire. The young halfa let out a cringe at the vampire and how much it closely resembled Plasmius.

"It reads here that vampires have used blood pacts to make their fledglings loyal to them. It's an entire ceremony and it's incredibly painful to the fledgling. Each and every second that the pact occurs, the fledgling experiences their blood boiling and searing agony in their body…" Jazz finished reading and then looked up at her brother.

He had started to turn paler in the face, but resisted the urge to look away. He swallowed away his fear and then looked over at Jazz. "Yeah, but ghosts can't do that, right?" He asked, the concern in his tone was more present than before.

Jazz shrugged and turned the page, "I wouldn't think so," she stated. "Vampires and ghosts seem to be vastly different. But…Vlad _does_ resemble a vampire in his ghost form, doesn't he?"

"I don't want to think about it," Danny argued, taking a shaky step away. "I don't want to even think that he could do that to me. My ghost half isn't a vampire, so there's no way _I_ could be a fledgling."

"Right," Jazz said with a nod. "What I'm concerned with is that he may try to implement a blood pact and twist it so that it would work for him somehow."

Danny's eyes grew wide. "How? How could he do that?" He pressed, looking away from the book and his sister. The only thing that was in his sight was the large and tall bookshelf. "It's _Vlad_ , why am I even bothering asking _how_?" He muttered, suddenly sitting down on the ground.

Jazz let out a loud exhale. "It's alright – we'll find a way out of this. We always do."

"What I need is to somehow turn back…time…." Danny said, and he quickly looked over at his sister with an idea that popped into his head. "You think Clockwork would help?"

"You and what Ghost Portal?" Jazz asked, and the young halfa let out a sigh of defeat. "You can't access the Ghost Zone, or any ecto-weapons…The only thing that we can do is outsmart him."

Danny let out a small hysterical chuckle. "Do you hear yourself, Jazz? Outsmart Vlad?" He asked, shaking his head while laying down on the ground. "That's about as likely to happen as me getting accepted into Harvard."

Jazz stood up from her seat and offered a hand to her brother to take. He looked at it and then up at her face. She let out a small, hopeful smile. "We have to have hope and confidence that we can take him on. Even if he does the blood pact, we'll find a way to _fight_ it."

The young halfa took her hand and stood to his feet. "Thanks for the pep talk. I think I needed that."

"No problem, little brother," Jazz said with a grin. "Oh, have you checked up on Dipper and Mabel since the whole…" She trailed, not wanting to mention how they had almost been burned alive at Vlad's hands.

"They're better off without me around. This way Vlad won't be targeting them. I won't let their lives be endangered again, Jazz," Danny stated, walking off towards the front entrance of the library. "This way it will be one last thing that he can use as leverage against me."

There was silence, and Danny turned around to look at his sister. She hadn't said anything in a while, and he was a little worried. Not to mention, it was a tense situation that they were in, and he was expecting anything to happen at any minute. Especially with Vlad in the middle of his schemes – the older halfa could practically be anywhere right now.

Jazz was frozen with her mouth open. She was about to say something, but was prevented when time came to a freeze. Danny quickly looked over at the clock and found that it was frozen at a standstill at eleven thirty-one. The young halfa took a step towards his sister and then looked around the entire library for any trace of a certain time ghost.

"Clockwork!" He yelled, and there was a rustling coming from deeper into the library. It sounded as if a book was trying to come off from the shelf. Danny wasted no time in morphing into Phantom and flying over quickly to where the sound was coming from. When he landed on the ground, the book was sent flying into his hands.

When the teen read the title of it, it simply read "Power of Mind" and didn't have an author. Danny turned it around in his hand before opening up the hard cover of the book and scanning through the pages. At first he didn't understand what language it was – it wasn't English, but he soon recognized the language, since he had heard it many times by a friend.

"Esperanto…" Danny realized, closing the book. He didn't know what good it would do him, considering it wasn't at all what he was currently looking for. Still, if time started to slow down and stop, then Clockwork was definitely involved and sending him help in any way he could.

"Danny!" Jazz called out frantically. Danny felt time moving again, and he held the book tightly in his hands before quickly flying over to where his sister was. When he landed a few steps in front of her, she looked at the title of the book. "What did you find?"

The young halfa let out a grin. "I knew Clockwork wouldn't let me down!"

Jazz walked over and examined the book a little closer. "Danny, that has nothing to do with what we're looking for. Are you sure that will help?"

"It has to be for later. I trust Clockwork. If he's telling me to read this, then I will," Danny adamantly said. His sister let out a nod, and they both headed towards the door of the public library.

 **To be continued…**


End file.
